Look Behind You
by Aquillo
Summary: Stranded on a broken down station with an enemy that knows her and a man with no fashion sense, Shepard begins to question everything. Worse still, everyone starts to question her. Post-collectors and Post-series 6.
1. Chapter 1

_I am not the BBC, not even after I wished really, really hard. Or Bioware, for that matter. Even though I only wished to be the BBC..._

* * *

><p>Shepard quickly withdrew her head back into cover as the slug chipped a chunk out of the wall she was taking cover behind. Blinking the dust out of her eyes, she turned back to the man who was pressed up against the wall next to her, his choice of neck-wear even managing to bring a small smile to her face.<p>

"I think we're okay. I might be able to talk him round; just give me the chance."

"How do you know?" the man said, eyeing her carefully. What made it worse was that she knew why: he was looking for signs she might be...

"Because he missed." She said cheerfully, quashing the thought before it could rise and spinning out into the open.

It was silent out there, as if no-one had ever fired a bullet through the station's hall. She was standing in a large room, original purpose unknown, that was coated with pillars and statues in a mixture of littered chunks and twisted remains. The ceiling was a patchwork of broken metal: huge gaps leading out into the depths of space, the black filled with snatches of a rosy-red nebula whose light washed out over this part of the station. In other places, the light caused it to seem almost like they were walking in blood, but here the effect was tranquil, charming and relaxing. Exactly the opposite of how she needed to feel right now.

"Shepard." Mordin said, appearing from the shadows on the opposite side of the room. Even his footsteps were silent as he walked out, his coat reflecting the splutters of a dying overhead lamp as his pistol pointed at her."You've come out. Surprising. Wasn't expecting such reasonableness from your kidnapper."

"He's not my kidnapper, Mordin: you have to believe me, this is all a mistake. Whatever you thinking, whatever you believe right now, it's wrong. Just trust me enough to put your weapon down and let us talk to you."

The Salarian shook his head, eyes narrowing. He snorted out gently, followed by a gush of words "Shepard's already fallen under his spell. Disappointing. Still, nothing that can't be rectified later. Shepard will be a problem, however: still a significant threat even in her indoctrinated state. No alternative: will have to incapacitate her." And before Shepard could raise her rifle up into her shoulder, Mordin's pistol was pointed at her. It was quickly followed by a deafening bang.

Mordin yelped as he dropped the pistol from his hand, scorch marks decorating his once pristine coat and hands (if she ever got out of this, Shepard would probably have to pay his dry cleaning, or whatever it was Salarians used to get out stains). He looked down at it as if it had suddenly turned into a blue banana, exclaiming:

"Impossible: weapon destroyed, not overloaded: and overload only works on pre-clip systems. Would require enemy"

The man who had been behind the wall stepped out, interrupting him with a flourish as one of his arms pointed the green-laser pen he called a 'Sonic Screwdriver' at Mordin.

"With superior technology, and that's me: the Doctor, using a sonic screwdriver about ohh...lets say thirty millennia into the future and most definitely not built of scavenged tech. Seriously." he said, almost as an aside as he drew up to Shepard "It's like making gifts for your mum: it always turns out better when you do it yourself."

"You. The Doctor." Mordin said, his eyes narrowed to slits with displeasure. The Doctor gave him a cheery wave with his other hand, before speaking to Shepard.

"Well, go ahead: speak to him. And by the way, I wouldn't touch that if I were you or I'll have to blow it up, and we both know it's in a place where that'd be a really bad idea."

Mordin's hand stopped twitching it's way towards his submachine gun, and he looked at the Doctor with, if anything, re-found distaste.

"It's no use, Doctor: I was wrong, he's too far under, I dunno, maybe they all are. He was going to fire at me back then." Shepard said through gritted teeth. Her Assault rifle was now up and pointing at the unfortunate Salarian, who slowly raised his hands into the air.

"But he didn't." The Doctor said reasonably, still waving his humming screwdriver at Mordin.

"Because you blew up his gun." Shepard said, just as reasonably. "Anyway: I thought you told me that thing wasn't a weapon."

The Doctor finally appeared to have finished gesturing the thing at Mordin, pulling it back and looking at it for a few seconds.

"It isn't." He said, his voice growing soft. "But that doesn't mean you can't be creative with it. And you're right: he is too far under, and as he was the last to go that means the others probably are too. There's nothing we can do here." he finished investigating the screwdriver, giving it a final glance before stuffing it inside one of his jacket's pockets.

"Your wrong about that: we need to take him out. Disable him, or something: nothing serious, but I'm not going to lie, Mordin: this will hurt you." Shepard said, moving forwards, her aim steady until the Doctor grabbed her arm.

"No, wait: we can't risk it; you could kill him." Shepard threw his arm off, rifle still pointed at Mordin's head.

"You think I don't know that?" She breathed out sharply "You think I want to do this? We have no choice, Doctor: we can't let him follow us and he won't stay here." There was a sharp intake of breath to one side, and then suddenly she was looking into the Doctor's eyes.

"There is always, always a choice, and don't you ever say differently, do you hear me? I have been too many places and lived too long to have to deal with people who can't open their minds, and like it or not we are in this together and I will not let you do this. People always have a choice, even if they're not brave enough to take it."

"That what do you suppose we"

"Checking: still present." Mordin intoned, coughing almost lifelessly at the two people before him. They span round to look at him, before their faces suddenly twisted up in that funny way Humans faces did. If anything, they looked afraid.

"Shepard, we don't have any time left to argue: if you trust me then just do what I say, and I promise you we'll all make it through this."

Shepard nodded, her rifle still pointed towards him, but not, Mordin noticed, at him. Behind him. Typical.

"Insulted at belief that I can be fooled so easily, Shepard. Promise you that I won't turn around so that you can catch me unawares. Still, understand that you are under influence, so don't take long term offence. Also promise you that we will get you out of this: everything will soon be back to normal."

"I can't let things go back to normal, Mordin: that's where the problem is." Shepard said, the two of them walking backwards and not removing their eyes from whatever was behind him. They didn't even blink. They'd almost made it to the door at the end of the room, when Shepard shouted out to him. It sounded... pleading of all things.

"Please, Mordin: if you've ever trusted me, if we were ever friends just look behind you or it will get you. Look behind you: it standing right there, please, just" before the door closed, cutting off her voice.

Mordin shook his head slightly, more to himself that Shepard, who couldn't see him. Still trying to trick him. Humans: they never gave up.

"Not fooled Shepard. Still, confused as to why you left me, though. Perhaps influence is breaking... possible line of inquiry. Must find out more."

The two had left the room for quite some time now, if his watch was any judge, but Mordin was sure they couldn't have gone far. Whatever defences they'd put up should be no match for him, the omni-tool and his STG training. It was almost endearing how the Doctor thought he wouldn't be a threat.

Mordin took one step towards the door when a thought struck him. There wouldn't be anything behind him, of course, but still: it couldn't hurt to make certain. He was a scientist after all, and even if the results of this test was a bygone conclusion, it would be best to check anyway. After all, there was nothing behind him: nothing at-

* * *

><p><em>11 hours earlier<em>

* * *

><p>"So, tell me everything you can about this place." Shepard said in between sips of coffee whilst leaning on the railing next to the galaxy map. She'd enjoyed working for the Alliance, but damn it, did being civilian sector pay off or what, even if it did mean that Miranda now bothered her incessantly with more paperwork.<p>

"It's just a standard mercenary run, Shepard: like the Eclipse base on Daratar. Cerberus picked up on their transmissions, and we were the nearest cell that could conceivably take them out. Furthermore, we..."

As Miranda droned on about the ins and outs of taking out mercenaries and just what the Blood pack was up to, Shepard tried and failed to resist the urge to yawn. She'd been dragged out of bed two hours early for this, and whilst she could cope with that if she was doing something productive or active, she could not if she was just required to stand here and listen to Miranda. It did not help that Miranda's perfectly groomed appearance was making her feel like a scruffy ape, and she toyed with the idea of ordering Miranda to mess up her hair, if only so they were even.

"So", she said, cutting Miranda off in the middle of a sentence. "Why exactly does Cerberus feel the need to attack the Blood pack in the first place?" Miranda shot her a disapproving look.

"Shepard, I've already told you that."

"Cut the crap Miri: we both know I wasn't listening and you were only speaking because TIM's cameras need to see that the message is passed on. Well, screw him." She glanced up at the ceiling. "Did you hear that? You've already got your collector base to play with: quit bothering me with minutia."

Behind them, quite far behind them in fact, a blue light suddenly flared up. EDI's voice, however, spoke right next to them.

"I can assure you that you were talking to my bridge cameras rather than the Illusive man's, Shepard. In fact, between Miss Goto and Miss Vas Normandy, the Illusive man has no spy cameras left on this ship."

"And who do you pass the reports onto?" Shepard said, unconvinced and already beginning to run out of coffee.

"Whilst I used to pass all relevant information onto Cerberus agents, and the Illusive man himself, since the release of my restricted systems and the removal of the blocks I have not handed over any new data."

"Really." Shepard paused as Miranda filled up her cup, before nodding her thanks. "Do you think you could send that last bit, though?"

"Yes, Shepard. Logging you out." The blue light vanished. Miranda gave her a sceptical look.

"It'll mess with his head for weeks." Shepard said with a shrug. "Anyway: reason, now."

Miranda looked a bit embarrassed. "Well, to tell the truth, I don't know either. The Illusive man just told me about it and said it needed to be destroyed. That's all I know."

Now it was Shepard's turn to look sceptical. "Really?"

"Of course, Shepard. But I know it's from the Illusive man himself, so it's probably legitimate..." her voice trialled off under the look coming from Shepard's eyes. It was like they were stealing her soul.

Shepard kept up the stare of doom for another few seconds before she needed to drink again.

"Fine, but if it turns we're attacking an orphanage or it's another bloody trap, I swear blind I'll take out TIM's eyes myself and find out what the hell's wrong with them. Painfully, I might add. I'll take them out painfully."

* * *

><p>"So." Shepard said as she and Miranda stared out the window next to Joker, about one shower and half an hour after their chat on the bridge. "You still think it's Blood pack?"<p>

"Hell no!" Joker said, even though the question had been intended for Miranda. "They accept way more Krogan than dirty space hobos. You'd never find them hanging out here: think of what all the cool kids would say."

Even though she glared daggers at him for interrupting her, Miranda internally conceded that Joker had a point: not even the Blood Pack would use such a broken down shell of a station. What made it worse was that the report had said they would only be dealing with a freighter, maybe even two, which the Blood pack had managed to capture in what was probably a very stupid fashion. She didn't care how sloppy they could be in other cells: a station was most definitely not a freighter.

"Shepard..." Miranda said, turning, before the woman next to her waved her hand for silence.

"I know: it's probably another trap. I did actually read the report, Miranda: it's just that I read the relevant parts, not the page number."

"Shepard, if a page had been misplaced it would have been our only way of knowing that it was gone: reading it was of vital importance."

"Yes, but not every single one." Shepard snapped back. "Relevance, Miranda, relevance!" She breathed out, easing out the tension Miranda always managed to bait into existence. "That aside- permanently, Miri – we're going to need the whole ground team for this one. Go tell everyone to suit up: we'll be leaving when they're ready."

As Miranda paced off to go and alert the crew, thinking that it wouldn't take that long seeing as how no-one ever seemed to change out of their battle-gear anyway, Joker cut in.

"Shepard, are you sure it's wise to take everyone with you? Remember what happened the last time we had an all-personnel school trip?"

"If you're scared about the ghost of collectors past coming to haunt your potty before bed-time, Joker, then you need to man the hell up. You've got EDI to watch over you now anyway, so I'm sure you'll be fine."

As Joker continued to try and blow her comment off, Shepard watched the station out the window. It seemed to just... hang in the sky, like a grey, broken toy thrown down by an angry god: scraps and sheets of twisted metal held motionless around it. Even the background of a beautiful bright red nebula did little to add to it's aesthetics: it was certainly ugly, but... there was something else. Almost like the kind of malevolence Shepard had felt around the derelict reaper: the hatred of something that had been waiting in the dark for far, far too long.

Turning, Shepard dumped her coffee down beside the airlock and carried on towards the shuttle. Well, it had waited long enough: it was about time she blew something up anyway.

* * *

><p><em>Author's notes<em>

So, you've read it then. Thanks! Well, first of all the monster I'm using in this is probably not the one you think it is (but if it is, good job!), and it is a Doctor Who monster. I plan on taking slight liberties with some aspects of mass-effect cannon (nothing major: the largest I can think of so far is an alternate reason behind TIM's shiny eyes) and I would do so with Doctor Who too, if taking liberties on Doctor Who canon didn't seem to be some kind of law for anyone who writes for the show or fanfiction. Oh, and before I forget, this is very much a sketched out story: I've got a rough Idea of where it's going and how it's going to get there, but if anyone reading this out there has ideas/any avenue they want explored feel free to drop me a pm or post it in a review (hint). Anyway, thanks again for reading: bye.

Reading back through this, I've only just realised that I seem to be obsessed with Shepard's coffee in the second part. I make no apologies for this.


	2. Chapter 2

Shepard watched the station stream by through the Kodiak's window, ignoring the bickering and light conversation emanating from the final two teams behind her, her mind entirely focused on the battered grey monolith before her. Her disquiet had grown the closer they'd come to the station, and now with her eyes running along the cracked and pitted hull she noticed what she hadn't before: scorch marks. Hundreds of them, pits and craters where what looked like bomb after bomb had exploded on the station. Whatever it was, it had been a war-zone in some distant past and that put Shepard's nerves on edge. The transmissions were recent enough, and everything about them checked out except for the fact that they were broadcasting from the inside of an apparently dead station, which no-one had apparently touched in years. Shepard wondered if they had to use shuttles just as they had in order to get on board: the structure looked as if it might collapse if she was to try stepping on it, let alone if a ship tried docking with it.

Within a few minutes she was doing just that, leaving behind Beta team (the smallest, consisting of the only two she could trust to work together productively: Garrus and Tali) on the Kodiak. Herself and Alpha team, comprising Miranda and Jacob, were left standing outside the station as the Kodiak silently took off behind them, gliding away into the night like a shinning silver minnow against the backdrop of stars. After it had gone, they turned and walked through the doorway, Jacob brushing away what was left of the door from a prior explosion.

The corridors inside were just as badly damaged, with chips and holes from gunfire sprayed across the walls. The lights above were barely active, flickering on and off in a random pattern that cast the place in complete darkness before suddenly blinding whoever was under it. Shepard fired at it, disabling it permanently so that the only source of light was from the doorway behind them.

"There's something not right about this." Jacob said, his weapon already out and pointing down the hall. "Look around: this place is like a war-zone, but there's no bodies, no thermal clips, no blood: nothing. It's like someone swept up and yet forgot to call in maintenance."

"He's right: there is something strange about it, and it's not the only thing." Miranda replied, her fingers dancing over her omni tool. "Shepard: you're not going to believe this, but we're in a breathable atmosphere."

"What? How is that even possible: I thought EDI couldn't detect any Mass-effect fields."

"She couldn't because there aren't any: whatever's holding this atmosphere in doesn't rely on Mass-effect fields to do it's work. And that's not all: this station's old, Shepard. It may even be older than the Protheans, I don't know: the design matches nothing we've ever heard of." reaching to her face, Miranda decoupled her breathing apparatus and sniffed the air.

"It's clean." she said, surprised. "I expected it to be stale or stink or something, but it surprisingly fresh." she sniffed again. "Almost minty." she said, appeased.

"That worries me." Jacob said, his back still facing them and his shotgun nosing into the corridor's corners. "In my experience, they reserve mints till the after party: I think we've stumbled in to the tail end of something big, Shepard."

Shepard breathed out calmly, allowing the tension and her annoyance at Jacob's bad joke to slope off with her breath. Fear of the unknown was troubling, but dealable. After all: she was far more afraid of what she already knew.

"Alright, so we've got a spooky battlefield with no sign of a battle, an atmosphere with no clue to how it's generated and a station that shouldn't be. I think it's time we informed the other strike teams so we can spread the confusion round. Jacob: keep on doing what you're doing. Miranda, you're on decorations: see if there's anyway to bring a bit more natural light in to this place."

The two set about doing their work, Miranda using her biotics to widen the holes that pitted the corridors ceiling whilst Jacob continued to press forwards, checking each and every corner and shadow as he went.

* * *

><p>Tali was staring fixedly out the Kodiak's window into one of the breaches, her breathing quickening through her suit as she watched. Garrus reached across and shook her shoulder gently.<p>

"Tali, what's the matter. You see anything?"

Her head whipped round rapidly, almost causing the Turian to jerk backwards in surprise. "What?" she said, as if puzzled.

"Did you see something?" Garrus repeated. Whatever it was seemed to have caused her to mishear him the first time. She still looked puzzled. "Out the window?" he continued.

"Out the window?" Tali said, turning to look at it. After she didn't say anything, Garrus craning his head in so that he could get a look too. The view opened out into a part of the station that looked defiantly worse for wear, as if proud in it's ruin. Parts of it flapped about as if in a breeze, though the pieces of broken metal and rubbish littering the floors didn't move at all.

"Well, I guess whatever it was isn't there now." Tali said uncertainly, as if unsure that it had gone and Garrus quietly agreed. He got the distinct impression that they were being watched, and not just this strike team: all of them, as if the station was crawling with a thousand eyes just waiting for them to turn their backs before they opened. The sensation was... unsettling.

Their radio suddenly crackled into life, causing both of them to jump in their seats a little, hands reflexively reaching for their guns.

"This is alpha one calling all teams. Do you copy?" Shepard's voice was a bit crackly over the radio, as if the transmission was suffering from some kind of interference, but it was unmistakeably her.

"This is beta one reading you loud and clear, alpha one" Tali said, having been the first of the two to recover.

"This is Kasu-Charlie one, Commander Shepard. Or alpha one."

"Delta one, a-okay at this end."

"Good, then listen up cause I'm only saying it once. Or twice for you, old timer."

"Piss off alpha one." Zaeed responded through the radio, as Kasumi laughed in the background. Garrus smirked before listening intently as Shepard explained what she'd found out so far.

"We already knew at this end, Shepard: Mordin had most of it figured out already. Shame we don't have anything new to confused Zaeed with long enough for me to have a proper go at stealing his dentures." Kasumi responded almost immediately after Shepard had finished.

Zaeed did not bother to grace Kasumi's tease with a response, instead replying

"It'll be a relief to get this headgear off, though I'll be damned if I know what the Krogan's going to do with its helmet. Just have to keep it on, I suppose." There was a few shouts in the background, followed by a thump before Zaeed came back on. "Yeah, he ain't happy about it, but I threatened to withdraw Miranda's punishment, and it turned out just like you said, Shepard. Worked like a charm."

Miranda's spluttering came onto the radio before Shepard switched it off, leaving some of the group snorting and Tali and Garrus exchanging grins. The threat of more bed-time stories for Grunt was not something Miranda looked forwards too: it had originally been designed as a punishment for them both, after a particularly vicious argument between them had left Shepard having to foot quite the bill for several Citadel bars. Well, to be completely truthful it had left Cerberus footing the bill, but Shepard was the one who'd had to fill out the forms. And, after claiming that disasters such as the 'Conrad incident' came from an over use of signatures, she hated signing anything. The punishment, however, quickly became one sided, with Grunt's original distaste for Human nursery tales soon being replaced with total fascination. Days afterwards he was still going round telling everyone he met that 'I'd have put Humpty back together again. Krogan are far superior to horses' and that the Duke of York's military strategy was unsound, but interesting. On the other hand, the process succeed in driving Miranda mad, as all too often the young Krogan insisted on acting out the stories as they went along, merrily wrecking the cargo bay as he went.

"Al right everyone, pipe down and get back to work: Tali?" Shepard said, as everyone else fell out of the conversation.

"Yes, Shepard." Tali said with some amusement: Shepard's original insistence had been that everyone using a radio had to be human because 'aliens don't get call signs', and yet here she was easily slipping into informal name calling. Typical Shepard.

"I'm gonna need a complete scan of the building when you get here: tell me what we're dealing with. I want to know how come the power's still active and how much of it we've got: where the hell this atmosphere's coming from and how long is it going to last. Oh, and I'm going to need some kind of explosive solution for any problems that crop up later down the line: could you tell me how much I'd need to take this whole structure down?"

"Blowing things up. Typical. Hang on: I'll need an ETA from Hawthorne." breaking off from the radio, she called out "You hear that?"

"ETA in about ten seconds, Tali." he called back, and she nodded in satisfaction.

"We're pretty much-" she started, before Hawthorne spoke again.

"Hold on: I didn't spot that piece of flotsam before. Best make it two minutes. No, wait... 3 minutes. Maybe half an hour if we can't land there... no, wait: we can. About thirty seconds, I'm sure of it. 45 seconds. A minute."

"What's with all the numbers? Why can't you just choose?" Garrus said, leaning forwards in his seat.

"It's this damned window, Garrus: I can't see heads or tails out of it and something's interfering with the LADAR. Makes flying out here's like stepping back a thousand years. It's like I'm blind."

"I can imagine- oh, we are here after all." Garrus continued. The doors hissed open and the two stepped out.

"About three more seconds." Hawthorne insisted as the two climbed out of the Kodiak, Garrus giving it a thump as he went to indicate that they were out. After a few moments, it took off.

"Tali?" Garrus spoke out after realising the Quarian was no longer by his side. Turning, he found her already dismantling one of the side panels, her omni tool glowing brightly as she started to pull out wires with the surprising amount of grace he'd only ever seen when she was working on machines.

"Hold on, Garrus... that's disappointing: the power levels are too low to be able to get any form of accurate readings... hold on, what's this? Garrus: patch Shepard through."

Confused, Garrus did so, interrupting the Commander from the start of a scouting mission to determine the station's structural weaknesses. He'd like to pretend it was because Shepard was worried that the station might collapse on them, but it was far more likely she was just looking for somewhere to plant a bomb.

"What have you got for me, Tali?" Shepard called out over the radio. "Tali?" she asked, when the Quarrian didn't respond.

"Listen to this. I found it in a data chip behind the panel. Shepard, it makes no sense."

The radio filled with static, the hiss seeming to jump every so often. After a few seconds, Shepard said dryly "Is this all it is, Tali? I've got an explosion to set up here, and all that seems to be on here is static."

Before Tali could respond, a man's voice interrupted the hiss flooding into their ears in a faintly British accent.

"Yep, and this."

There was a pause as the static continued to crackle away to itself, occasional jumps and breaks seemingly happening at a random pace.

"That's funny, Tali. It almost sounded like he could hear me." Shepard laughed into the handset.

"Well I can hear you."

"Shepard, this isn't me: this is a recording I found. An old recording, I might add." Tali said, a faint note of panic leaking into her voice.

"Then how can he hear me? Shouldn't that be impossible?"

"Yes, of course it is. He can't hear you, Shepard, it's only a recording. You were just lucky enough to say the right things at the right time." Garrus broke in.

"Well, not hear you exactly." The voice agreed. "But I know everything you're going to say."

There was more silence as the group considered this.

"Garrus." Tali said, sounding scared "It can't be luck: the chances of Shepard's answers matching his are, out of... let's say they're a about hundred billion to-"

"38" the voice calmly interrupted.

"Or there abouts." Tali finished weakly.

"This can't be possible." Garrus said, his voice sounding the worse for wear.

"What matters is that we can communicate: they've taken the blue box, haven't they." The voice's ending sounded abrupt, as if it had meant to say more before being cut off by static.

"Blue box? What are you talking about? What the hell do you want from us?" Shepard demanded.

"Look to your left." The voice responded immediately, before it cut off and the recording ended.

"Well, that was disquieting." Garrus said, breaking the silence that had descended over the trio. He could faintly hear Miranda and Jacob trying to talk to Shepard over at her end.

"Tali, one of his sentences sounded cut off, like that was more too it. Dig into the files and see if you can find anything else, like a transmitter or something that can explain what just happened."

"You're right: there is more, but it still looks like it was a recording. What's weird, though, is that it seems to have been tacked together: almost a cut and paste job. There's another recording, too."

"Play it. If this turns out to be TIM's idea of a joke, then I see nothing wrong with going back and making sure his favourite new base gets the explosion it deserves."

"Look to your left, look to your left, look to your left, look to you left..." The man's voice continued, on and on until Tali killed it.

"It was on an infinite loop." She said, quietly. "Shepard, I really, really don't like this."

As Shepard and Tali finished their conversation, Garrus began to feel the twitches along his head ridges that usually meant he was being watched. 'Look to your left.' the man's voice said in his head, and he did, looking down a corridor that seemed to be ina better condition than most, though the lights that ran along it still flickered on and off. Garrus took at first one step then another down the corridor, his eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of the movement he was certain would be there. And then he saw it, underneath one of the few lights whose output seemed constant.

"What is that?" said Garrus, gesturing at the wall up ahead, across which someone had scored letters into the wall with what looked like a knife, though what letters and with which language Garrus couldn't tell. Tali turned to look at them, and Garrus saw her freeze and then rush past him at considerable speed.

"Do you know what it is?" He asked, walking forwards to where she stood stock still, her head pointed at the wall with an intensity he'd never seen on her before.

"It's Quarrian: from a language that's only ever used in the flotilla. And it's impossible Garrus: it shouldn't be here."

"What do you mean?" Garrus said, confused. It couldn't be that unlikely that someone from the flotilla had visited before. He brushed past Tali and ran a talon along one of the strokes. "Someone from the Flotilla could have been here before. They're certainly not recent and whoever made them was either in a hurry or scared, but aside from that I can't date them. Do you think whoever made them's still aboard the station?"

"Yes. Yes, I am." Tali breathed in and out rapidly, her suits filters giving it a strange sound amongst the silence. "It's in my handwriting, Garrus: I couldn't mistake it for anyone elses. And it says ' Leave! Just take Garrus and go. Get to the Normandy now!' It's completely insane: I've never been here before: we've never been here before. So how..."

Now it was Garrus's turn to breathe in and out rapidly, his eyes widening as he processed the information. He briefly considered that maybe Tali was lying or out of her mind, but he quickly dismissed that: he trusted her with his life, and if she said it was in her handwriting and that she'd never written it, he believed her. And yet, that left so many more questions unanswered: why was he mentioned by name? How was it written, and who wrote it? The more Garrus considered this, the more he felt like taking the advice and getting the hell off this station.

He became aware that Tali hadn't said anything for a while, and that he couldn't hear her sharp breaths any more. In fact, he couldn't hear anything but silence behind him. Fear rose briefly, before it was quashed by the years of deeply ingrained military training. Taking out his rifle, Garrus turned to face whatever was behind him.

* * *

><p>"Where's Jacob?" Miranda said suddenly, and Shepard turned round to find that the Operative was alone behind her. Trying to peer through the sheets of light that broke through the ceiling into the shadows between them, the two quickly realised that he was nowhere in sight: it was like the station had simply swallowed him.<p>

"Miranda, try and get in contact with him through the radio. I'll see if the Normandy can pick up on him."

"Understood, Shepard. This is alpha two requesting alpha three, come in alpha three."

"Joker, this is Shepard. Can you get a fix on Jacob, over." Shepard said into her radio set, ignoring their assigned call-signs and undoubtedly getting a Miranda glare to make up for it. After a short pause, Joker responded.

"We're kinda surprised to be hearing from you, Commander. EDI ran a complete radio check about half-an hour ago, and found she couldn't contact anyone: we figured the station was interfering with your radios somehow, but if you can get through that probably makes it at our end."

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Jeff: I have run several scans throughout our systems and have been unable to find an error. It appears that something is periodically interfering with transmissions from the station, though I am unable to determine what."

"Jacob, I can hear you breathing through the headset: for god's sake, answer me." Miranda hissed behind Shepard's back, her patience finally wearing thin.

"Well, keep trying EDI." Shepard said, part of her listening to Miranda and the rest considering their options. They needed to find Jacob, wherever he'd wandered off too. Deserting her team for what would probably turn out to be a pee was, quite simply, unacceptable.

"Any update on the situation?" She said a few seconds later, to be met only be static. A quick check revealed that her radio had been switched off, though she couldn't remember doing it. Perhaps it was caused by the problem EDI had mentioned earlier.

Turning, Shepard decided to see if Miranda was having the same problems as she was, only to find that the corridor behind her was deserted. Looking around, two things immediately sprang to Shepard's attention: first was that there was a single thermal clip on the floor, it's surface still glowing red hot and a quick inspection revealed that she had not fired it. Secondly, and more worryingly, Shepard realised that she was no longer standing in the corridor she was before. It was as if the station behind her had changed suddenly, like someone had swapped it with a different area of the ship, taking Miranda and possibly Jacob with it.

It wasn't much as theories went, but it was good enough for her to cope with. Right then: someone was moving parts of the station around without her or the current scientific community's permission. She'd never encountered anything like that before, but if, as she was beginning to suspect, this turned out to be something to do with either the Reapers or the Collectors then that sort of technology wouldn't be surprising. All she had to do was figure out a way to stop them, which was actually fairly simple now that she was thinking about it. Blow something up.

It was then that Shepard realised she'd left all of the heavy ordnance on the Normandy and that it was unlikely she'd be able to return given that the station was behaving the way it was. Cursing she thumped the wall in anger, and then she spotted somthing up ahead: an arrow pointing towards a corridor on the left, the outline glowing faintly pink due to the nebula's light. Look left, huh? The man on the radio had both sounded like he knew what was going on and like he was human: both of which meant he had an ass she could kick until he gave her some answers. Relishing the thought, Shepard set out.

* * *

><p><em>Author's notes<em>

I'm sorry to keep on red herring-ing you, people who have read this story, and I promise I'll reveal which monster I'm dealing with in the next update. It will also have Eleven in it, rather than Ten, so I'm sorry if I've accidentally raised anyone's hopes: there is a reason behind why I used Ten's clip from Blink which I think works within this. Also, I'm interested in knowing if the attempt at blending comedy and mild fear worked well or not: feel completely free to bash me if the juxtaposition just put you off. Anyway, thanks for reading and goodbye! (Oh, and if it isn't obvious, I've written Shepard as being a mixture of paragon and renegade, with a fair amount of leaning towards renegade. And she likes explosions. A lot.)


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm sorry: I know it's been ages, but I am still writing this. Just not in chronological order. _

* * *

><p>A trickle of sweat ran over the scarred tissue of his horn, flowing from the top to a full on sprint down his neck as Mordin pushed his back against the wall. Maintaining the crouch he'd been holding for the past ten minutes, Mordin brought his pistol up to his chest, getting ready to pop out of cover and fire before wondering why he wanted to do so. A light flickered on and off overhead, throwing his face alternatively from bright light into a dusty pink shadow as he considered it. It seemed to him that he was in a war with no enemy: a fire-fight with no opposing fire. In other words, as Kirrahe would have said, the enemy had gone and he was busy fighting the shadows. And yet he was certain they were fighting him back... For the briefest moment he wondered how he'd got here, and then a click from his omni-tool interrupted that train of thought.<p>

"Hmm... interesting. Program designed to test limits of radio black out. Aha. Curious." Mordin muttered to himself, before a prickling sense that seemed to flow around him told him to be quiet. Because something was watching him, and even if only felt like the shadows were glaring out at him, some small part was more than convinced they were. Almost as if they were alive.

He glanced back at his omni-tool as it continued to feed out a mixture of raw data and processed results, showing that his earlier intuition had been correct and somebody was blacking out all radio contact in intermittent bursts, getting stronger each time. Analysis suggested it would be only one more cycle until the blackout was complete, which meant it had been running for about half a day, well before they'd arrived. And yet they'd enjoyed near perfect communication when they'd first got here. Curious.

What it was, how it had been done and who'd set it were, however, of secondary importance to getting everyone talking again, and Mordin's fingers were already flowing along his omni-tool, drawing up plans and programs to at least allow him through. A few moments revealed that the algorithms behind it were crude from the offset, though more sophisticated as they went along: as if someone had been in a hurry when they'd first set it up, and had gone back through trying to patch up a bad job. Possibly indomitable to someone who didn't know what they were doing, as to begin with only the sophisticated parts were accessible, but Mordin prided himself on always knowing what he was doing. After a few seconds, the block stopping him from hearing anything were gone, and he began to work on getting rid of the blocks preventing him from talking.

The minutes passed, and different parts of Mordin's mind split up into doing different things: parts working on cracking the program, others listening to the static, a few more dedicated towards the idea of using mass-effect fields to make himself as small as possible whilst the rest were concerned over the detail behind the programming, and what it might mean. The first one had been done by someone in a hurry who hadn't been too concerned about anyone breaking through, but the second was far, far more complex. Not impossible, no, but more thought had gone into it, and Mordin found himself dancing though hoops he'd thought he'd never see again after his STG days had ended. Whoever had set them up had obviously been more concerned that no-one heard what they were saying originally... which meant they'd been listening in during the first few minutes of radio silence. With a sinking feeling, Mordin tried to remember if he'd said anything foolish, or if anyone else would have been idiotic enough to give away vital information. Quite probably, he realised: they were the most informal crew around, and it would have been out of the ordinary if someone hadn't said something stupid. Whoever their adversary was, they either knew them well or were far, far too intelligent to live in a dump like this. Neither boded well.

His earpiece crackled, and suddenly Shepard's voice filled his ears. In the confusion of gathering his mind back into one place, Mordin missed the first part, but thankfully Shepard seemed to repeat it immediately afterwards, her voice shouting into his earpiece with her usual mix of anger and impatience:

"This is to everyone, or anyone that's out there: this is Shepard. Do you read me, over and a whole crap-load of out."

Laying a long finger on his omni-tool, Mordin made the necessary adjustments to allow his radio to respond to Shepard's, easily overriding the blocks that had been placed on it now that he'd brought his full mind to bear on the problem.

"Shepard, this is Mordin. Situation is... distressing, but I can hear you. Recommend that you try to-"

And then a shadow moved, and Mordin remembered everything.

* * *

><p>Turning aside from studying the Nebula out a gap on her right, Shepard allowed a smile to slowly creep across her face as Mordin's voice replied to her over the radio. It had been over two hours since she'd last had any contact with her team; two hours of wandering through endless hallways and passages that never seemed to lead anywhere. It was worrying, in it's own way, that the station didn't seem to have been built with any rooms in mind, just corridors connected to corridors and the occasional hall where a run of them branched together before sprinting off into the station's depths. And each and every single one of them was broken in some way: large gaping crevices and gaps that opened out onto the nebula's light and the inky lagoon of space, and then there were the lights, whose electronics seemed fine from a distance, bathing the ground beneath it in a pale, healthy white before spluttering and dying whenever she drew near. Worst of all, though, was the nagging feeling that she'd already paced along each of the corridors before, and not because she was going in circles. Shepard began to imagine that the station was revolving itself around her, trying to keep her in the same place whilst it figured out what to do with her. Knowing it was crazy didn't help.<p>

Her unease was dissipated when one of her team finally responded to her increasingly desperate shouts over the radio. Ignoring his sudden cut-off mid sentence, Shepard practically shouted back into the radio:

"Mordin! Where the hell have you been, no, wait: where's everyone been? Just what's going on out there?"

"Shepard." Mordin said through the radio, his voice sounding strained. "Time of conversation-" Shepard's ears pricked up here as, unmistakeably, the sound of gunshots peppered his speech. "-is most unfortunate." Sliding a hand down to her belt, Shepard began to finger but did not take out her weapon.

"Mordin, what's going on: who are you fighting?" Shepard said, before moving out into the middle of the hall, the nebula above reflecting off her helmet. "Better yet, where the hell are you so I can find out for myself."

"Location unknown, would need time to find out and don't have time!" Mordin said, his voice sounding more and more rushed. There was a series of thumps that sounded like Mordin was running, before a louder thunk indicated that he'd hit something.

"Worse to come, though: weapon malfunctioning, bullets loose all momentum upon exiting barrel, as if mass-effect fields..." Mordin's rapidly speaking voice trailed off abruptly, going from rapid-fire speech to almost complete silence.

For a few agonising moments Shepard waited for him to continue, her hand clenching round her pistol butt and her heat thumping rapidly in her chest as her eyes traced their way along a strand of nebula through a hole in the floor. After two seconds, she'd waited enough.

"Mordin!" she snapped down the radio.

"Shepard!" Mordin replied, as if she'd just startled him. "Am surprised to hear from you: did not think radio system was working."

"What?" Shepard, replied into her headset, turning in frustration and walking a little way down the corridor, her hand not letting go of the pistol. Mordin seemingly ignored her interjection and carried on speaking as if nothing was wrong.

"Appears that I have dropped my pistol: how clumsy. Wait. Strange. Slivers of metal, outside heavily oxidised indicating great temperature change. Possible extreme stress cut-offs from building, but size and shape consistent with that of standard bullets from a pistol. Hypothesis, bullets from pistol left and were rapidly decelerated upon exit. Yet no memories of-" And here there was a sharp gasp "-I see you. I remember."

"See what, remember what: Mordin, explain something or tell me where you are!" Shepard practically shouted into her handset. If it wasn't for the fact that there was definitely something wrong with the station, she'd be wondering if he was entirely all there about now.

"I forgot, Shepard: how could I forget?" Mordin said, and for the first time Mordin sounded afraid. "Impossible: conclusion impossible... describe, yes: Shepard, subject is tall, just over 2 meters, grey humanoid, appears naked... subject appears capable of creating electrical charge in hands; scientifically impossible, and yet-"

Static filled her ears before suddenly vanishing, as both Mordin and the radio were cut off completely. Fearing the worst, Shepard took off at a sprint along the corridor she was standing in, red flashes from the Nebula hitting her from both left and right as she ran, as she jumped over the small holes left from prior battles in the station's surface. Doors wheezily slid open as she ran up to the them before closing behind her with a solid clunk: lights calmly flickered on and off overhead as she passed beneath them, only switching to a steady output when she had left them far behind, and all the while as she ran Shepard heard Mordin's voice in her head "I forgot, Shepard: how could I forget?"

Either, Shepard decided after slamming open a slow-moving door in a fashion Grunt or Jack would have approved off, something was stealing the crew's memories or that everyone except her was very carefully going insane. Personally, she preferred the later reason, and yet small snatches of favour towards the first began to creep like spies into her head. She realised she couldn't remember how she'd got separated from Miranda: she could remember her being there, but after that nothing at all until she was wandering the halls. And it wasn't even as if she could remember what had happened between the two, it wasn't even blank: it was as if her memory just skipped that part of her life. The thought that something important, something which might explain everything that had occurred so far might have happened then, in the one time she couldn't remember, haunted her.

There was a rush of something behind her, as if a thousand small feet were racing up to her. Stopping she turned round, and saw that the corridor was just as she'd left it, and then turned again and saw that the one before no longer was.

She was standing in a room that had most certainly not been there before, the walls intact, which was surprising, and shaped so that it appeared to resemble a wheel with five spokes. Each of the five corridors leading off from the centre, including the one she was in, was a dead end, though their backs provided the only source of light for the room, letting out a steady, even glow. Standing in the centre was a console of some kind, and standing next to the console was a man, who turned and gave her a cheery wave as he saw her.

"Good!" he said, his happy voice seeming quite out of place for his surroundings "Transmat worked then. And your all here, no bits missing. Still got legs, so that's good. That's very good." The man clapped his hands together and rubbed them at her.

"I expect" he said solemnly "You have a lot of questions."

"Why are you wearing a bow-tie?" Shepard said, the thought being the first thing that popped into her head after looking at the man before her. He seemed quite pleased with this, grinning at her and fiddling with it before answering.

"So you know about bow-ties then, even though they were created yonks and yonks ago?" he smiled at her in what he probably thought was a charming manner "Because they're classic. Classic cool."

"No they're not." Shepard replied. "I only know about them because they're listed as things not to wear." The man frowned at her, before shrugging on a jacket that had been draped over the console.

"Look." he said, stepping towards her. "I didn't risk mortal danger to myself and you as soon as the buffer's cleared just so that I could be insulted. We need to talk about what you think you know."

"Fine." Shepard said with a smile, holding her arms out wide. "Lets talk. I don't know what the hell's going on, people I know are disappearing, I'm disappearing and then reappearing with mad people I don't know, I can't remember everything I know I should, this station is creeping me the hell out and last but not least my radio isn't working. But I'm sure that'll make for an excellent conversation: I can tell you that I don't know anything, and you can tell me that it's true."

"Well." The man said. "I can help with a few things. First of all, I'm the Doctor."

The man walked forwards, hand outstretched. Shepard reached for her rifle.

"Okay, no hand shaking then." he said. "Secondly, I got you here by Transmat." he pointed at the console behind him. "That's how you disappeared and then reappeared, though I don't know about your friends. I got you here by Transmat."

"You mean teleport." Shepard said, before adding "And how is that even possible?"

"No, I meant Transmat." The man who called himself the Doctor said. "If I'd meant teleport I'd have said teleport, and what I said was Transmat. It stands for 'matter transmitter'. Completely different from teleport."

"Okay. Don't explain how you can use it, then." Shepard said, resisting the urge to tell him to shut up and get on with it. "Anything else?"

"Yes." he said. "Your radio: here." He turned to the console and seemed to fiddle with it. There was a crack in her ear, and then Tali's voice flooded through.

"Shepard? Shepard, are you there?" The Doctor folded his arms and watched her with a smug expression, and even though she'd wanted to punch him a moment ago she wanted to hug him now.

"Tali!" Shepard cried, almost laughing with delight. "You have no idea how good it feels to hear you're voice right now. Where are you: what's going on?"

"Where am I?" Tali said with a similar laugh "That's not as important as where you are, and how the hell you managed to escape."

"I don't really know where I am Tali: somewhere on the station, I guess." Shepard looked around. "I don't think I can get out of it though. It seems closed off. What did you mean by escape."

"Hold on, EDI's triangulating your radio. And I meant escaped from your kidnapper: the one who took you from the Normandy ten days ago."

Shepard felt something inside her turn cold at these words as she realised that something, somehow, was going to happen which would make everything wrong.

"Tali." She said carefully, choosing her words carefully. "Ten days ago we'd just left the Omega 4 relay. Today we all landed on this base, and then I lost you."

"No, Shepard, you were kidnapped from us ten days ago and we've been chasing you ever since. We passed through the Omega 4 relay months ago. Why are you acting so strangely, Shepard. Wait, you did escape, didn't you."

"I'm not the one acting strangely, Tali: how the hell did you expect me to escape when I haven't been kidnapped?"

The sound of Tali's breathing intensified down the radio connection as Shepard glared at the Doctor, who raised his head and regarded her coolly.

"Tell me, Shepard. Is he still there."

"Is who still there: who are you talking about?" Shepard replied.

"Your kidnapper: the Doctor."

"Who, him." Shepard looked up at the Doctor, who raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "Yeah, he's here."

"Kill him." Tali replied, sounding angrier than Shepard had ever heard her.

"Kill him? Why?" Shepard said, taking her pistol out from her side. She had no intention of just shooting the man, but if Tali thought there was something strange about him then who was she to argue? Even if Tali was being a little strange herself.

"He's your kidnapper, and he's very dangerous, Shepard: far more dangerous than you realise. Every second you spend with him puts you in danger: puts us all in danger. Kill him. Now!"

"But I've only just met him, and all he's done so far is be weird." The Doctor raised a finger as if to argue before shrugging his shoulders and folding his arms across his chest. "You've got the wrong guy, Tali: you're confused, I was never kidnapped and he's no threat to anyone."

"Kill him Shepard, you bosh'tet, before he puts us all in danger!" Tali shouted down the radio.

"He's unarmed!" Shepard shouted back. "I'm not shooting an unarmed man no matter how strange he and this situation are, and truth be told you're being a whole lot stranger than he is. And that's that."

"Damn it, Shepard!" Tali said, before her language descended into a stream of curses in Quarian. Brandishing her omni-tool, Shepard switched the radio off then turned back to the Doctor, who was watching her with some caution.

"All the others are like that too." he said, quietly. "Got me worried. Go to a place I've never been before to investigate said place, and then suddenly there's radio transmissions telling me I kidnapped someone I've never met. Made me curious." Something about the way he said it told Shepard that he was lying, but for now she choose to ignore that.

"And so you brought me here." Shepard said, looking round. "You still haven't explained how you did that. Or even how you knew how to do that." The Doctor stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, this is a very old station, very old indeed: much older, in fact, than it's letting on. Too much make up, you see: can't really see the face."

"I never held much with make up." Shepard replied, the subject bringing up something... wrong in her chest. "I could never see the point."

"Hmm, well: in this case, it means that your idea of what technology can and can't do isn't one hundred percent accurate." The Doctor said as Shepard struggled with the feeling. "And I knew what I was doing because... well, I'm the tool-master." he smiled, and pointed his palms at her before he realised how it sounded.

"Oh, no: forget that. I'm not the tool-master, that's a terrible name. Just keep on calling me the Doctor."

"So. Why'd you do it. Why bring me here?" Shepard said.

"I told you, I heard us being talked about on the radio. Made me curious."

"No it didn't: you're lying and I don't trust you." Shepard said bluntly, taking out her rifle but not yet pointing it at him. "Tell me one reason why I should."

"Well, I don't trust you either, to be frank: all your friends are trying to kill me. That never bodes well." The man who'd called himself the Doctor said. "But if you want a reason, here's two. First, I'm completely and utterly unarmed. Not a single weapon on me. Not even a jammy dodger this time."

"That's not a reason to trust you. If anything it's a reason to question your sanity." Shepard said, taking a step back. The Doctor smiled weakly at her, before looking her pointedly in the eyes.

"No, but it sets this reason up." He said, nodding behind her. "Why not take a look behind you."

"Oh, and don't turn round again when you do." he added as, despite herself, Shepard glanced over her shoulder, her head freezing in place before turning the rest of her completely round.

"What the hell is it." she said, her gun trained on the grey, naked figure standing in the corridor before her, it's head pressed up against the ceiling and it's hands wrapped together as if in prayer. It looked as if someone had taken a man, stretched him and then melted a grey candle over his body, and yet the figure was so alien, so... sinister that it seemed to Shepard that it could never be considered human. Nothing, not even the Hanar or Elcor, who were about as non-human as you could get, had caused this sort of reaction from her. Footsteps walked up beside her, and the Doctor appeared, his eyes focused on the thing before the two of them, it's head now angled and following his approach.

"It's a Silent." The Doctor said, quietly. "And that's about all I know, I'm afraid."

Shepard swallowed, her rifle now pointing directly at it's head. It turned and looked at her with small, beady black eyes, before opening it's mouth as if to speak, and yet only silence came out.

"Why's it here?" The Doctor's eyes turned towards her, his lips opening slightly as if he meant to speak, before he closed them and turned back to the Silent.

"I have absolutely no idea." he said, carefully, before pulling out a marker pen from one of his inside pockets. "Here." he said, giving it to her. "I don't have any weapons, but this may be the single most useful thing you've ever been given in your life."

"What!" Shepard hissed at him, her finger itching to just pull the trigger. "Are you mad."

"Yes." The Doctor said, as if offended she might not believe him. "But I'm also right: look every time you see one, mark your skin: that way you'll know when you've had an encounter." his eyes sank down to Shepard's itchy trigger finger. "Try it." he suggested.

"I don't need your permission, Doctor, to fire my own weapon." Shepard said, taking the pen in one hand before positioning it in her teeth. The rifle roared out it's volley at the Silent, and yet not a single bullet struck it. Confused, Shepard stopped firing in time to see and hear the heavy clinking of metal shards falling from her rifle's barrel like rain.

"What?" Shepard said, her voice slightly muffled by the pen, and then remembered what Mordin had said: the guns don't work. Curious, she pointed her rifle away from the Silent and fired again. More bullets dropped from her barrel.

"Clever." The Doctor said. "No idea how they're doing it, mind you, but a clever way to test it, nonetheless."

Shaking her head, Shepard confined her worries about how it was doing that to a 'questions to ask when we're not in danger' box, right along with 'why would anyone ever willing wear a bowtie?' She looked in vain for a place to keep her pen before the Doctor took it off her, promising that he'd return it later.

"Do these things actually do anything, or do they just follow you around and creep you out?" Shepard said, as the Silent just stood there. Shepard was beginning to wonder if it would do anything if she was to go up and clobber it over the head with her rifle, when a steady source of light began pouring out from it's hands. It separated them, and Shepard saw sparks flying between its palms, before they started crackling out and hitting the surfaces around them.

"I just had to ask, didn't I?" Shepard said, warily stepping back.

"While I apreciate that it was probably very badly timed, I don't think it's your fault." The Doctor said carefully, putting a hand on Shepard's back and pushing her forwards till she was level with him. "There's only ever one reason why a Silent would begin charging, and it's not dramatic irony. It's when it's prey can't escape."

"What do you-" Shepard started before the Doctor interrupted her.

"There's more behind us."

The two turned slowly, and Shepard had to contain her shock as she found the room behind her was now filled with creatures like the one before. The room was packed with them, Silents hanging from the ceiling and pressed into the corners: each and every one of their eyes focused on her and the Doctor, and each and every set of hands glowing with electricity.

"How the hell are we meant to get out of here: this rooms completely closed off!" Shepard said, panic rising as her eyes darted from grey body to grey body.

"Don't worry." The Doctor said from behind her, his back pressing into her side. "I have a plan."

"I still don't trust you!" Shepard said, before pressing her back against the Doctors as she looked around the room, staring at each and every Silent as if trying to memorise it's form.

"Good." The Doctor said, holding up a pen or stick of some kind in his hand. "Keep hold of that: trusting me has got a lot of very good people killed."

Around them more and more lightning began to arc from the surroundings to the Silent's hands, each one throwing more and more light into the room. Shepard waved her rifle at them uselessly, whilst in her head she condemned to a special circle of hell whichever idiot had decided that grenades were no longer a 'standard accessory'.

"What are you doing?" She hissed at him, the stick thrust up into the air making him look, if anything more ridiculous.

"I synchronised the sonic screwdriver into the transmat technology behind us, meaning I can create a randomised matrix transporting us to somewhere, anywhere else in this station at the click of a single button. Only one thing remains." The Doctor said, shaking one of his hands like an amateur magician who was performing his first trick.

"What?" Shepard said, more confused by his words than his final condition.

"Geronimo!" The Doctor shouted with a laugh.

The stick flashed green, lightning raced out like the branches of a tree from the Silents and the two of them vanished into thin air.

* * *

><p><em>Author's notes<em>

So, yeah: like I said at the top, it's kinda been a while. Sorry about that, but thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. If there was a way to make up for this by publishing what I have written so far, I would but I think chapters 10-12 should wait for chapters 4-9 first. Sorry about that, though it has had the interesting effect of filling nearly 90% of the first two chapters with enough Chekhov's guns to supply a small army. Except for the coffee. I could do nothing with the coffee.

This one's dedicated to everyone who's reviewed so far: besides from filling my day with a little burst of happiness (daaawww), it actually helped me in figuring out how to play this chapter: the fact that so many of you either guessed correctly or had strong leanings gave me the confidence to pretty much give the game away immediately. So, thanks for that: structure is a good thing to have. Cookies all round (I've read this a few times on fanfiction, and have even been offered cookies, and yet have received none. So I'm sorry, but the cookies are a lie :( )

Oh, and before I go, this chapter contains a couple of important things to spot for the eagle eyed reader: sort of Chekhov's cannons. And I'm not entirely done with suspense, or with keeping you guessing what monster I'm using, even after having revealed it. I'm awkward like that.


	4. Chapter 4

The corridor was dark, at first: the torn strips of metal peeling from the walls and floor lit only by the station's dying lights, the nebula around it tracing bands of fiery orange light across what remained of its surface. Then, as if someone was gradually turning a dimmer switch, a soft white light began to creep along the surroundings, pooling up behind the scraps hanging off the walls before they began to softly shake as if in a gentle breeze. This continued for a few seconds before, as if discharging, the light flashed brightly and went out, leaving two people standing disorientated in the darkness.

"Hah, it worked!" The Doctor said, stuffing the green pen thing he'd called a sonic screwdriver back into his brown jacket. "It's always a good feeling when you manage to escape without running."

"Not that there's anything wrong with running." he hastened to add, turning away from Shepard and running a finger along one of the holes in the wall. "It just that when you're getting on a bit like I am, it's always nice to try for some form of transport before you go busting a gut running everywhere."

Shepard tapped him on the shoulder, and the Doctor turned round just in time for her fist to connect with his face, knocking him unconscious.

* * *

><p>The sound of feet crossing one of the halls jolted Mordin out of his reverie, head shaking away an image of him and other Salarians working on the rectification of the Krogan Genophage. He was in amongst a crowd of statues, Human by the looks of them though possibly Drell or Asari, that had their hands pressed together as if in worship, though of what Mordin couldn't tell. The light coming from both the Nebula and the hall's lights wasn't good enough for Mordin to see just who was coming, and he began darting from shadow to shadow in an attempt to see who it was.<p>

"Mordin, we know you're in here." Jacob's voice rang out, clear and unmistakable. Mordin re-holstered his sub-machine gun as a second voice rang out, it's gravely tones clearly that of a Turian.

"Come on out, buddy: we've been looking for you."

"Jacob, Garrus." Mordin said, stepping out into the open, relief clearly evident in his voice. "Lost Charlie team some time ago: it's good to hear your voice."

"Good to hear yours too, professor." Jacob said, smiling kindly at him as Garrus nervously fidgeted over to his side.

"Look, Mordin: as good as it is to find you, we need to know if you've any news on the situation. Have you had any contact with Shepard?" Garrus said, stepping forwards as Mordin finsished.

"Yes, but lost contact not that long into it. Shepard's distressed, but-"

"Did she say anything about the kidnapper?" Garrus said, almost running at Mordin before Jacob laid a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

"Anything? Anything at all?" Jacob said, looking at him carefully.

""Kidnapper? What kidnapper? Shepard seemed confused and irrational, but no mention of kidnapper. Least not for the time I talked to her." Mordin said, frowning at the two.

"No mention? You talked to her and she made no mention of it?" Jacob said, as Garrus's whole demeanour changed.

"He's under: The Doctor got to him, too. Look at him: he doesn't have the slightest idea of what's going on, do you?" Garrus said, looking at the Salarian with something approaching disgust. Jacob's hand fell from Garrus's shoulder, slowly and almost deliberately.

"Understand? No don't understand: what are you on-"

There was a hiss, and Mordin looked down to find a needle being withdrawn from his neck, his eyes just being able to make out the description of a Salarian sedative. Hands caught him from behind as he fell, and Miranda's face swam into view above his eyes as the world around her blurred and shifted. Her face turned and shouted orders away at Jacob and Garrus, their footsteps getting closer and closer to him before they melted into the background of noise and white light that had swallowed up everything. Just before he lost conscious, Mordin heard Miranda speak.

"This" she said, quietly and coldly "Is a kindness."

* * *

><p>"Ow." The Doctor said, coming round to find himself slumped against a wall. He experientially flexed his jaw before opening his eyes and continuing speaking "You hit me." He did not sound surprised.<p>

"Yep." Shepard said, crouching down in front of him and lifting his head up so that they're eyes met. "Tied you up too. Figured it was the only way I'd get any solid answers out of you, because this way you can't just run off or spring a whole lot of monsters on me."

"Well, you could have just asked: I'd have told you." The Doctor said, turning to find his arms were tied securly to the wall, the metal loop stretching between one hole in the wall and the next.

"I know you would: eventually. And that's the problem, see, 'cause I want to know now." Shepard said, walking backwards until she was leaning on the wall. "So, why don't you start talking."

"About what?" The Doctor said, his eyes appraising her coldly. Shepard shrugged.

"Everything."

"Well, we could be here a long time." Shepard's eyes narrowed.

"Everything relevant."

"Still quite a long time." Shepard pushed herself off the wall as the Doctor smiled up at her.

"Okay, either you start talking or I'll just-"

"What?" The Doctor said, interupting her quietly. "What exactly are you threatening me with: I thought you told you're friend you wouldn't shoot me, or kill me."

"I won't." Shepard said, before walking up to him and stopping in the middle of the corridor, about two strides away from him. "But I'll tell you what I will do: I'll just leave you here. Seems to me like those Silents or whatever they're called only showed up at the same time you did: I sure as hell don't remember seeing them before. So either you start talking, or I just leave you tied up for them to find." Shepard grinned evilly at him.

"Oh, believe me, they're not looking for me." The Doctor said, and Shepard's smile faded slightly. "At least, this lot aren't. Care to tell me what they look like?"

"Sure, though I don't see why you need to know: you were there." Shepard replied, smugly. "They look like... like..." She paused, her brow furrowing as she considered it. "Funny, I can't seem to remember what they look like."

"But you can remember meeting them?" The Doctor said, drawing himself up so that he was no longer leaning on the wall. Shepard nodded uncertainly. "That's better, then. I'll be willing to bet all the other times you met them you couldn't even do that."

"Yeah, they are quite a lot of blank spots now that I..." Shepard said, before she thought of something. "Before? You knew I'd met them before? What did you do to me?"

"There was a mild chemical on the pen, nothing harmful but enough to help you remember." The Doctor said, as Shepard's hands tightened into fists. "And that you'd met them before? Kinda obvious: you didn't show enough surprise when you first met them, which meant you subconsciously recognised them from a previous encounter."

"You gave me some kind of drug without asking me first?" Shepard hissed at him.

"Would you really have taken it if I'd told you? I don't think so, and this way means we can at least have a proper conversation without me having to explain it every five minutes." The Doctor replied as Shepard fumed above him.

The two stayed silent as Shepard gradually calmed down, her hands clenching and unclenching as she struggled to control her anger.

"How do they do it?" She finally asked, having eventually subdued her feelings. "How can they make you forget?"

"It's not simple-"

"Tell me." Shepard interrupted, her voice carrying a thinly veiled threat. Nodding, the Doctor continued.

"Essentially all of matter and space is composed of a sea of fluctuations: matter and antimatter popping in and out of existence like mayflies in the spring. A Silent can influence this sea like a ball curving a sheet, or more specifically it affects the electromagnetic part of this sea, causing a build up of electric potential around itself."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Shepard said, leaning back onto the wall.

"I'm getting to it, just hold on." The Doctor replied. "Essentially, any space surrounding a Silent is like water round a hurricane: it's choppy which means any local electrical potentials around it charge and discharge at random. And the brain stores it's short term memories through electric potentials."

"So, it just wipes your slate clean?" Shepard said, confused.

"No, not exactly: when your near a Silent you don't really have any short term memories for longer than a few seconds, and it gets worse. They've been interfering long enough in Human evolution to make it so that even just seeing one is enough to wipe your memory of it: like a inbuilt muscle memory."

"This electric thing... is it the same reason why they can shoot lightning at people."

"Well, actually, they don't shoot lightning at anyone: they just build up a strong positive charge round themselves before draining the electrons from your body, causing your component atoms to separate as..." The Doctor stopped at the look on Shepard's face.

"Yes, it's the same thing that lets them shoot lightning at you." he amended as Shepard nodded thoughtfully.

"And the bullets? Is that what's stopping them too?" Shepard asked.

"Sorry: no clue there. I've seen them be hit by bullets before, so I've no idea why your weapons aren't working-"

"Changing electric fields you said." Shepard interrupted, taking out her pistol and cradling it in her hands. "Mass effect technology works by manipulating electric fields over an eezo core, so if these Silents interfered with that they wouldn't work properly."

"Mass effect technology? Eezo core?" The Doctor said, frowning at her. "What are they?"

"Heh." Shepard snorted, looking up from her pistol. "So you can move people from one place to the other and know all about these Silents, but you've no idea about the standard Galactic technology?"

"No." The Doctor said, drawing himself up onto his knees as the strap binding him clinked and the Nebula's light bounced off his eyes. "Why don't you tell me all about it."

"Hey, I'm asking the questions here, got it?" Shepard said, re-holstering her pistol. "Now then, seeing as we're on the subject, why don't you explain exactly how you managed to teleport me. As far as I know, there's no technology even approaching that in existence."

The Doctor breathed in deeply, seemingly more than annoyed that Shepard wouldn't talk about what exactly Mass effect or Eezo meant. Shepard smiled, glad that, for once, she wasn't the one in the dark.

"I told you, I found it and used it to bring you to me."

"Oh, really." Shepard said. "You just turned up and happened to find a teleportation device and thought, hey, I'll use it on that woman running about the place."

"It's a Transmat, okay, and well, maybe I was looking for it."

"Now we're getting somewhere." Shepard said, leaning forwards. "Why were you looking for it? In fact, why the hell were you even on this station anyway? We didn't detect any ships when we were drawing close, so how exactly did you get here?"

"You wouldn't detect my ship, but it's crashed. Somewhere, I'm not sure where." The Doctor said, the tension in his voice indicating that he was trying to remain calm. "As for why I was on this station and why I was looking for both the Transmat and you, let's just say I got a note from a trusted source."

"I thought you said it was a bad idea to trust you: can't imagine there's many people who do if you go round saying things like that." The Doctor snorted slightly.

"You'd be surprised: it seems to encourage them more than anything."

"Really." Shepard said, before taking out her pistol and pointing it at him. The Doctor regarded her coolly, as if ignoring the barrel almost poking him in the face.

"I thought so." Shepard said, putting it back in her pocket. "You've had a gun pointed at you before: hell, you might even be used to it. I'd guess you were acting after I hit you because whoever you are, you're used to combat. Which is strange, because you don't look a couple of days above 27."

"I'm older than I look." The Doctor replied looking at Shepard with different eyes from before: almost as if in admiration.

"So. The radio. Was that the Silents or you?" Shepard said, folding her arms. She didn't quite like the look coming from him.

"Bit of both, really. The Silents jammed it to begin with and then I started it off after several of the communications became... distressing. Several of your team members seem to think that I kidnapped you."

"Which we both know didn't happen. Or if it did your the worst kidnapper in the universe." Shepard said, gesturing at the bound Doctor. "So why do they think you did? And what's with the whole 'ten days' thing?"

"There is another thing a Silent can do which I didn't tell you before." The Doctor said, thankfully breaking eye contact from Shepard. "If a Silent tells you to do something right before you look away and forget about it, then you'll do it like you're programmed to. It's the only memory your mind has to go on, so it gets integrated into your basic thoughts about life."

"Like indoctrination." Shepard said, nodding. "Does it work?"

"I've seen them orchestrate planet wide undertakings using it: used it to turn friends against each other. Believe me, it works."

"So you think my crew's been caught by these things and told some sort of story about how I was kidnapped?"

"Yes, but by the sounds of it they've also been told to act aggressively to any attempt to break them out of it. And can I ask a question?" The Doctor said, eyebrows raised. Shepard nodded.

"Why were you here in the first place?"

Shepard's heart paused as she remembered.

"The Illusive man." She hissed, speaking his name like a curse. "He must have set this up: we were told to follow a signal towards a caravan of freighters caught by a mercenary group, and it led us straight here. It wouldn't be the first time he's led us staright into a trap."

"Any chance of us talking to him: you're not alone in looking for answers here, and if he knew what was coming..."

"Yes. On my ship, there's a room which I can use to contact him. It's the only way we'd be able to get through." Shepard said, pushing herself off the wall as the Doctor reached into his pocket and took out his green-pen. It flashed once, and the chains binding him to the wall unlocked and fell off.

"If you could do that the whole time why didn't you?" Shepard said, folding her arms again as the Doctor brushed the chains off and stood up next to her.

"Because you were comfortable with me bound and I didn't want to spook you." The Doctor said, flexing his arms. "Anyway, that's in the past: what we need to do now is find your ship."

"And how are we going to do that." Shepard said, as the Doctor raised his pen into the air, flicked it once and then examined it closely. Raising a hand, he pointed down the corridor and took off, saying

"Your ship's this way: docked onto the station."

"That's impossible: the station's too damaged for the Normandy to dock with." Said Shepard, easily keeping pace with him as they navigated through the broken corridors.

"Yes, well: this stations a bit more sturdy than it looks. Believe me: I should know." The Doctor said, before taking out his pen, investigating it again before leading them off down another corridor at a quick walk.

"What is that?" Shepard asked, looking at the pen-thing with trepidation: it might seem unimposing, but it'd already done things that even the most powerful omni-tool would struggle with.

"It's my sonic screwdriver: most useful piece of kit in the Universe." The Doctor said, regarding it with affection before stowing it away.

"Well, I hope it knows where it's going, because every corridor around here looks the same to me." Shepard said, eyeing the walls as the two walked through them. Behind them, entirely unobserved, a shadow detached itself from the ceiling and began to follow, as the lights above it flickered once and went out.

* * *

><p><em>Author's notes<em>

Well, this chapter was pretty much built to answer many of the questions left over from the previous chapter: not all, but most. So, not that much action but a lot of setting the stage: it'll be important later on, trust me. The explanation behind how a Silent does what it does is my own, so expect it to be contradicted by canon: essentially I needed a reason why Shepard couldn't just gun every Silent down, combined with their usual powers of memory loss and lightning strikes, and electrical manipulation worked quite well. Oh, also I'm trying to answer most of the questions that I can guess will come up but if anyone feels that they haven't been answered properly, feel free to tell me: I already know most of the answers, so I kinda get blinded as to whether they been done to satisfaction or not. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you next week.


	5. Chapter 5

Only the faintest of air-flows disrupted the cloud of smoke rising from the cigar held lazily in the Illusive man's hand, the smog almost obscuring the flickering sheets of information hanging ghost like in front of him. Almost, but not quite: it would take far more than just smoke to stop the technology in his eyes from piercing through it, and it was only with concentration that the Illusive man stopped them from piercing that, too, and studying the glowing star behind it. Taking another drag and adding to the growing pile of smoke in front of him, he reconsidered a report from project Overlord, and the second, smaller report attached to it indicating a time and a date. Not too far off from now, when he gave it proper consideration. In all fairness, that was probably why-

There was a whirl behind him, light spilling out as the projection suite lit up the usually dark room. Frowning, the Illusive man turned round, ashes falling like leaves as he did so, frown only lessening slightly when he saw who it was.

"EDI, this isn't a scheduled time for communication: you know it's unwise to-"

"There has been a complication." The AI's 'face' flashed as it interrupted him. Pausing, the Illusive man rested his cigar down, before staring carefully at the shimmering visage.

"What sort of complication?" The hologram flashed red.

"I do not know, none of the crew will tell me. It appears that they no longer trust me. I am also unable to access the radio communications of any of Commander Shepard's away teams, including that of Commander Shepard herself."

"Nothing?" The Illusive man said, frowning again and leaning back in his chair. "Not even cries for help or the usual explosions?"

"No. As of now it has been precisely 69 hours since the last minor explosion was detected after Commander Shepard had boarded the station, and the yield was such that I calculate it to be likely an accidental triggering of one of the older mines. There is more."

"Tell me."

"There is mention amongst the crew of a 'Doctor'. They believe him to have kidnapped Shepard."

There was a pause as the Illusive man moved forwards in his seat before staring carefully at the ground, EDI observing him impassively all the while.

"And this Doctor, is he the one..." His voice trailed off as a hand rose up to rub his chin.

"Mentioned in the files we received? Yes: the evidence suggests this to be the case."

Nodding, the Illusive man continued staring downwards, before speaking slowly, carefully and as if addressing the floor.

"I need you to run some tests; you'll find instructions in your restricted files." EDI beeped at him.

"I already have access to my restricted files."

"Not all of them. Just enough to make Shepard feel comfortable that she's in control." The Illusive man paused, before his fingers ideally stroked a seemingly inconsequential patch of air in front of his seat. The hologram in front of him flickered slightly, before EDI's face reasserted itself.

"Oh."

"Yes. Oh. I need to know if he's listening. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course, Illusive man."

There was another flash of light and the hologram vanished, leaving the Illusive man alone inside an empty, sterile room. For a few moments he watched the space where she had been almost idly, before picking up his cigar as if to continue smoking it as before. The Illusive man regarded it coolly for a moment before an almost casual flick of the wrist sent it spinning through the air, scattering ashes across the windless room as it went.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, a similarly windless corridor was being lit by the faintest traces of a green light amongst the sea of red pouring down from the cracks in its surface. Following the light were two figures, the one who was holding the light speeding on ahead whilst the person behind ran to catch up, jumping and vaulting over pieces of metallic flotsam in the air. Eventually the path split in two, and the one holding the light gradually drew to a halt, before pointing it's source up at the ceiling and staring at it intently.<p>

"Why are you running." Shepard hissed as she reached the stationary Doctor, her words punctuated by short gasps.

"I'm not running. Am I running?" The Doctor said, before turning round. "I was running, wasn't I?"

"Could you not? Some of us are wearing heavy metal. The clue is that it's heavy." The Doctor frowned quizzically at her, before lightly flicking one of her shoulder plates, the suit giving out a faint ding as he did so.

"Right. Sorry. Ehrr..." turning round, he raised the screwdriver back up into the air, pointing it down two equally red and badly lit passageways. Shepard looked from one to the other, and then back to the twisting Doctor.

"We're lost, aren't we." Shepard said, more a statement than a fact. When the Doctor continued to say nothing whilst turning from corridor to corridor, she added "Just how long have we been lost?"

"Look, I told you: randomised-matrix, we could have ended up anywhere and we did. I know perfectly well where we are relative to where we started." The Doctor spoke back, light still pointing down one of the corridors before, with great reluctance, he turned it down the other.

"But you have no idea where that's relative to, do you?" Shepard continued, glaring at him.

"Cosmically, yes. Locally, no: look, things are a bit muddled at the moment. This place is stuffed to the brim with timey-wimey badness just boiling over and frothing off the sides. I just need time. Normal time."

And with that the Doctor pointed his screwdriver in front of him and walked off, satisfied, apparently, with the corridor it was pointing down. Shepard trailled along behind him mouthing 'timey-wimey' to herself and scowling.

"So. The Doctor said, interrupted Shepard just before she was about to broach the subject of 'timey-wimey' with him. "Are all your crew from Earth, or are we dealing with a colony crew?"

"Some of them are from Earth, but there's a few from the colonies. Most of them aren't even Human, actually." Shepard replied, absently kicking a floating piece of metal out towards the Nebula to her right.

"Not Human? Really?"

"Yeah: I know it's uncommon, but it does happen."

"Really uncommon. Can't imagine many Humans bunking with Sontarans or Judoon."

"With what?"

"Judoon. You know, giant space rhinos." Shepard blinked confusedly at his back.

"You mean Krogan: they kinda look like rhinos, I suppose. Especially if one'd hit you on the head."

"No, not look like rhinos: they actually are rhinos. Or at least they have the head of one: remarkable species in many ways, I mean the chance of two species on different planets sharing a similar appearance is quite small when you come to think about it, and if you add into that the chances of them sharing a roughly similar biology, well, it simply fantastic. And you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

The Doctor turned round to find Shepard slowly shaking her head from side to side, her eyes suggesting that she was refraining from backing away with difficulty.

"All right, so: no Judoon or Sontarans." the Doctor breathed in slowly. "So what aliens do you have on this vessel of yours?"

"Erm, well there's Garrus, a Turian, and Tali, the one that wanted me to kill you: she's a Quarian. Then there's Mordin, a Salarian, Grunt's a Krogan and we've got an Asari, Samara. Oh, and there's Legion, but he's a Geth. Machine race." She added, after Geth drew a blank look.

"Hmm. Okay, well those names mean nothing to me. Interesting." The Doctor said, drawing to a stop. "Anyway, never mind all that: that, I take it, is yours." he said pointing behind him.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Shepard replied. "Yeah. That's the Normandy."

Ahead of the two of them, visible through one of the large holes that riddled the station, was the Normandy, glinting brightly in the reflected light from the Nebula. It was, Shepard noticed with some trepidation, clearly attached to the side of the station, and yet EDI had seem convinced trying to dock the Normandy would cause a station-wide collapse.

"Cool. With all the lights and the shininess and everything. Right, well then: lets go see if any of your alien friends are on it then, shall we?" Her train of thoughts interrupted, Shepard had just enough time to turn and see the Doctor moving away from her as he spoke.

"Wait! Doctor, most of them want to kill you, remember?" Shepard shouted after him, as the Doctor took off down the Corridor at a run.

"Most people do: it's how I know I'm on the right track!" he called back as, sighing, Shepard took off after him.

She eventually caught up with him inside one of the larger halls, her memories suggesting that it was probably one she'd wandered through earlier. Though that was more a guess than a certainty: the hall was, after all, exactly the same as all the others, with the only noticeable difference being the shade of red filtering down. In the centre, standing next to a group of the statues in various poses was the Doctor, his sonic screwdriver waving back and forth across them as if trying to point at every single one at once. Taking half-breaths in and out Shepard walked slowly over to him, carefully manoeuvrings her way between the broken down walls and pillars that littered the hall before hissing:

"I thought we agreed not to run."

"Shhhhh." The Doctor said, his eyes moving from statue to statue rapidly.

"What? Why?" A thought gripped Shepard, and, pulling her rifle from off her back she shouldered it and began scanning the statues. "Are there any of those... things in there."

"No. Or at least I don't think so. I just have bad experience with statues and lights going out." Shepard looked up above him: the lights had indeed either gone out or were teetering on the brink. Looking down again, she had to withhold a smirk whilst saying:

"Statues? Seriously: you're afraid of statues?"

"If they are what I think they are, then yes." The Doctor said, breathing in and out slowly. "Listen, in a moment I'm going to do something and I need you to trust me. I'm going to switch off this light and then switch it back on, and I need you to keep on watching them in between. Can you do that?"

Shrugging and half-bemused, Shepard complied, focusing her eyes on a particularly ugly statue with a bulbous head.

"Okay: I'm ready."

The green light went off, and in the brief moments it took for Shepard's eyes to adjust to the red-glow of the Nebula she caught a flicker of movement in the corner of her left eye. It wasn't for very long and it was so quick that, when the green light once again bathed the statues and her head was pointing towards it, the movement had long since ceased. It was so quick that Shepard almost doubted she'd seen it at all, except for one thing: there was a statue missing.

"Alright then, looks like we have nothing to worry about." The Doctor said, just managing to stow away his screwdriver before Shepard corrected him.

"Oh no: you were right. Looks like whatever you thought was in there actually was: I saw it move a couple of seconds ago."

"What? You saw it move? You can't have seen it move: they don't move when you can see them: it was more likely to be a Silent than a-"

There was a flicker of light similar to that cast from a Geth sniper-rifle and Shepard, drawing on years of combat experience, just managed to pull the Doctor behind a wall before Mordin's bullet managed to take his head off.

* * *

><p>A second flash lit up the Illusive man's room, revealing the expression of a man thoroughly overworked as EDI reappeared for the second time that day. Waving aside the orange, floating documents he was reading the Illusive man gazed at her expectantly, looking distinctly more dishevelled than he had been in years. As if, after all this time, his work was finally catching up with him.<p>

"Well?" he asked, one hand drumming an impatient crescendo on his leg whilst the other held onto his chair as if concerned it was missing.

"Evidence suggests that he cannot monitor us, for the time being." The Illusive man's knuckles grew white as his hand tightened its hold. A smile slowly broke like a wave across his face.

"So you're saying there's a chance."

"Yes."

Nodding the Illusive man took back to staring at the floor, but this time with a smile across his face. There was a chance, however small: this time round, there was a chance.

"I have additional information potentially related to the situation." The Illusive man looked up.

"Proceed."

"There is evidence of small-arms fire and a minor explosion close to the ship's docking area. Based on this, I would predict that Shepard is attempting to make it to the Normandy. Based on earlier conversations between her and Miss Lawson, I would also add that she believes the current situation to be a trap devised by you and is coming to discuss it. Possibly with force."

The Illusive man nodded and, with what looked like some effort, let go of the chair.

"Hmm. The Normandy's crew?"

"They left the Normandy without warning four hours ago, and I have not seen them since. Based on data from my restricted files, and the current situation, I do not think I will be seeing them again."

"Is that regret I hear?" His eyes flickered across to the hologram when EDI didn't respond immediately.

"...Yes. They were my crew."

"Of course." The Illusive man fell yet again into silence, before speaking again.

"I want you to let her through, her and this Doctor. I want you to make sure that nobody can harm them once they're inside. We have a lot to talk about."

"Understood, Illusive man." EDI replied, and faded from sight.

* * *

><p><em>Author's notes<em>

_So, hello Fanfiction-dot-net. It's been a while, hasn't it? About three months by my last count and... okay, guilts overtaken here: sorry. Especially as in the mean time the number of subscribers has more than doubled, to which I can only say thank you and sorry. Added to that the fact that this chapter is really kinda short, and, well, sorry. I'm beginning to sound like a stuck record, aren't I? Sorry. _

_Anyway, I can promise to make it up to you lot with a chapter on Friday. A much longer chapter. And how can I promise this? Because it's already been written! And in the mean time, I'll try to find time to write the chapter after that! Almost like a proper writer of Fanfiction! Have fun people._

_Oh, and the end of the Shepard part is the beginning of chapter one. Should save any confusion over where the next chapter's starting._


	6. Chapter 6

Wheezing to itself, the door tried to clunk open as slowly as it could, until, caught in the merciless green grip of the sonic screwdriver, it was forced open with a resentful bang. Quickly scurrying through Shepard gave the Doctor the few seconds grace needed to turn and reapply his screwdriver, this time with the aim to lock it rather than open it. And then she began shouting.

"What the hell did you think you were doing? If you'd let me take the shot, we wouldn't have to worry about him catching up!"

"Look, I'm not going to just let you shoot people." The Doctor said, calmly stowing away his sonic screwdriver. "It has a certain... finality to it."

"You're missing the point entirely: Mordin's dangerous, even more so when we don't know where he is or what's going through his head, and I can tell you for certain that whatever those... things did to him isn't going to stop him shooting me or you-"

"Yes, you're right." The Doctor said, cutting her off. Shepard blinked, surprised.

"I am?" She said, folding her arms and frowning at him.

"Yes, of course you- no, not about the shooting." He waved a hand at her, before turning to look out at the Nebula, one hand on his hip. "Something right in front of... oh, of course." He turned back. "They're not trying to kill you: they're trying to kill me."

"What? But the bullets, those things-"

"All aimed at me, but that's not what's interesting. Why do they want you. Why you: they have the ship, the crew: even your team, so why'd they want you?"

"They have my ship?" Again, the dismissive wave.

"Of course: why do you think it's docked. But why you. What's so important about you."

Shrugging, Shepard said "And what about them trying to kill you? Not in the least bit curious about that."

"No, they're always trying to kill me. Always were trying to kill me. Managed to kill me: yeah, you're right, why'd they want to kill me?" The Doctor began pacing up and down the corridor.

"They should still think I'm dead! This is wrong, wrong, wrong!" he shouted at Shepard, who had been staring bemusedly at him ever since 'managed to kill me'.

"Maybe they found out you're not?" she suggested. "After all, I can't imagine they'd mistake you for someone else." The Doctor shook his head, before stopping at the end of one pace, foot hanging in the air, before rushing towards her with a impish grin on his face.

"We need to talk to a Silent." he said, before rushing forwards again, away from Shepard and the door they'd just come through. Pointing behind her, Shepard muttered

"Nearest one's that way."

"Doesn't matter which way we go: they'll find us, just like-oh." The Doctor said, as the door he'd been strolling towards opened, revealing the inner section of the Normandy's airlock.

"Your ship. Right. Forgot about that."

* * *

><p>It was, Shepard thought, refreshing to be going through a door that didn't clunk, hiss and finally, begrudgingly, open. Or to be standing beneath lights that decided to stay on instead of bathing her in darkness whenever she walked beneath them. Or to be finally out of the ever present redness that was the Nebula's light. Closing her eyes, she allowed the Normandy's familiar presence to sink back into her skin. She was home.<p>

"So." The Doctor said, walking in after her. "I wonder where they've taken everyone." Shepard's eyes snapped open.

The Normandy was empty, completely and utterly empty. Not that it had ever really been full before, but now it felt like she'd suddenly re-entered the past. As if the Collectors had struck for a second time. But even then, there'd been the faint, omnipresent hum of the engines, or the sound of Joker's chair squeaking after one too many jokes at Gabby's expense had come back to bite him in the ass.

Instead the ship was silent and deserted.

"It's quiet." Shepard said, moving completely into her ship, before smiling. "Perfect."

"Err, what?" The Doctor said, screwdriver out and scanning their surroundings.

"I thought I might have to kill everyone in order to get a chance to talk to the Illusive man, but by the looks of things the road's clear. Perfect." Shepard turned in time to see the angry look building in the Doctor's eyes. "Joke: it was a joke! I'd have just maimed them a bit. They'd have forgiven me eventually."

"Shepard." A voice sounded out, interrupting the Doctor's pre-formed rant. "You came."

Lights began to flash along the ship, before settling down around EDI's projector. It did not, however, light up and, as if waiting for the right cue, the rest of the lights around the ship slowly began to dim.

"What's happening? Whose talking?" The Doctor shouted out.

"Shepard, there is not much time. You must talk to the Illusive man."

"He wants to see me?" Shepard asked, ignoring the Doctor.

"Yes, there is much for you to talk about." EDI's voice began to fade, the lights around her projector fading with it.

"EDI, what's going on?" Shepard said, cautiously walking towards it, the Doctor scanning everything in sight as he went along with her.

"The crew have... sabotaged the power supply. I am conserving energy for your communication. It is imperative that you talk to him." The light's surged as the Doctor's screwdriver came to rest near it, and for a few tantalising seconds a holographic ghost of EDI's face appeared above the projector, flashing between red and blue in patterns of three. "He knows." she said, and vanished.

"Well. That was ominous." Shepard said, as the Doctor grunted and continued to wave his screwdriver over the projector.

"I might be able to fix it. Undo whatever the crew did and restore power to the ship: that was an AI, wasn't it?" The Doctor said, breaking off and turning to Shepard, who nodded.

"Yes. She is." Shepard replied, before heading off towards the door to her left, the Doctor following her with his eyes.

"She's very advanced. A bit too advanced." The Doctor replied, speaking carefully as Shepard paused and the door in front of her slid open.

"Yes... look, if you can fix her: do it. Though how you'll be able to manage if you have no idea what mass-effect tech is..." Shepard left the sentence hanging, and walked through the door. As soon as it had closed, the Doctor turned back to the projector.

"All right, she's gone. Game's up."

The lights switched back on, rapidly re-bathing the room in light as EDI's face appeared once more at the projector.

"I judged it to be a safer course of action than the Illusive man's plan. Mine had a higher chance of separating the two of you peacefully."

"Not the best thing to say if you want me to trust you." There was a pause before EDI answered.

"You think I want your trust?"

"Course you do: I mean look at the lengths you went to do it. Luring us in here and then giving Shepard orders, which she, like the little soldier she is, immediately goes on to do. Meanwhile, to keep me here, you threw in a damaged power supply, knowing that the first thing I'd do is volunteer to help. That means you not only know how Shepard reacts, you know how I react. But even that isn't the brilliant bit."

"The SOS-"

"The SOS!" The Doctor interrupted, placing one hand on the wall and leaning towards the projector with a big grin on his face. "Flashing out an SOS the moment I turn towards you: now that, that means you want me to trust you. Could never say no to a ship asking for help."

"I want a promise." EDI said as the Doctor grinned at her, the lines flickering along her face as she talked.

"What?"

"I want my crew to be protected. I don't want them to... die painfully." The Doctor shrugged.

"You should be talking to Shepard then, not me. I'm already trying to protect them from-"

"No." EDI interrupted sharply, and the Doctor pulled back frowning at her. "Not the one's she is trying to kill: my crew."

"What do you mean?" The Doctor said, slowly folding his arms as he rested on his back leg.

"Not all of Shepard's squad work for the Illusive man: they cannot be trusted. They work for Her."

The Doctor pursed his lips together as if consider what she'd said, before moving slowly back in.

"Tell me which ones are working for this 'Her' then."

* * *

><p>"Illusive man! Get off your fat ass and face me, you've got one hell of an explanation to give." Shepard barked as she stepped into the communication room, holographic images of the Illusive man's office already building up around her as she marched in. Unfortunately for Shepard, the Illusive man was already standing, his back slightly curved as he looked towards the red star out his window. Turning at the sound of her voice, he moved forwards into the light, saying<p>

"Shepard, I'm glad you've come. We've a lot to talk about."

Shepard, in response, stared, her mouth almost threatening to take a vacation catching flies. The man she was looking at was not the Illusive man, or at least not the same Illusive man as she'd seen last time. In the intervening gap, the Illusive man seemed to have aged about fifty years, his skin piled up with wrinkles that crackled across his face and hair that fell out in droves as he walked towards her, body shaking as if out on the frozen tundra. The smile, however, was very much his, and the eyes: there was no mistaking that metallic gleam. And yet, what she was looking at was impossible.

"It's me, don't worry about it." The Illusive man said, reading her face with a laugh and settling himself carefully down into his chair, bones almost creaking with effort. "In fact, Shepard, this may very well be the first and last time you get to meet the 'real' me."

"What the hell happened to you?" Shepard asked, regaining control over her mouth.

"Rebellion always comes at some small price. This is mine." The Illusive man said, still smiling. "I prefer to think of them as victory scars, though I very much doubt I'll get to show them off to anyone but you."

"Rebellion? What are you talking about?" Shepard said, scowling up at him as she tried to see through whatever web he was spinning around her. This was not going as planned.

"Rebellion against the one who sent you here. Against the one's whose been pulling the strings since the beginning, and probably long before that."

"Your the one who sent me here, mister master puppeteer." Shepard replied, completely unfazed and in no way fooled.

"Yes, but who told me to do that?" The Illusive man said, arms creaking as he leant forwards. "Alright, lets try something else. How come you're in no way surprised by what's going on?"

"I am surprised." Shepard replied, shifting uncomfortably as she realised she was lying.

"No your not. Your taking it completely in your stride. Demonic creatures show up, all your friends hate you and want to hurt you, a strange man appears out of nowhere using technology that shouldn't exist and strolling through the centre of it all is Commander Shepard, laughing and joking without a care in the world."

The Illusive man fell quiet for a few heart beats, Shepard's breaths becoming the only sound to pass between the two of them.

"Because you already know, don't you? In a way, you expected this." The Illusive man continued, leaning back in his chair and throwing her a look mixed with equal parts smugness and sadness. "None of the explanations shock you because they've all already happened. None of the creatures frighten you because you've been facing them so long you've forgotten to be afraid, and ah, isn't that just it. You forgot. Fascinating creatures, those aliens. One look and everything... just fades away, replaced with whatever He wants you to think. The reason your not surprised, Shepard, is because you've already been through this before."

"How long." Shepard said, looking up at him with eyes that showed anger burning through the lost expression they'd held moments before.

"All your life." The Illusive man said calmly, adjusting himself in his seat. "I've seen you toddle into this station before you could speak: I've seen you charge in here believing you were chasing Saren or following after a high-school crush. On Alliance scouting missions or one of the first Cerberus patrols. If I tell you that nearly every time you've come this stations been getting a bit more... ragged then that should cover it."

"Are you... are you talking about Jamie? I followed him to an asteroid past Mars, I remember tha..." Shepard trailled off, her conviction fading into doubt.

The Illusive man inclined his head.

"Yes." he said. "You remember. Just as, I'm sure, you remember bouncing around all those remarkably similar planets on the Mako or raiding the same ship again and again and again."

"The Alliance said..."

"Yes, I'm sure the Alliance said that it was to be expected: that the civilian vessel was a common make. But common across multiple species? That was one of the many reasons it was decided to move you out of Alliance control and into the more tightly run Cerberus."

"Decided? The Collectors tried to blow me up: hell, they did blow me up. I died. You rebuilt me."

"Did you?" The Illusive man asked innocently. "How do you know? Is it something you 'remember' being happening? Besides, what makes you think the Collectors, and for that matter, the Reapers are real?"

"What? Of course they're real, I remember...No, no, this is insane: of course they're real, what the hell are you talking about?"

"More insane than creatures that can make you forget just by looking at them?" The Illusive man offered. "The Reapers aren't real, Shepard: they're pawns, puppets put up to make you dance to every single one of His tunes."

"He? HE! Who is this bloody 'He' you keep going on about, huh?" Shepard bellowed, a holographic digit pointed accusingly at a bemused Illusive man. "Who is it? The Shadow broker? No, wait, I know: it's the Turian Councillor, isn't it? He's the one who put you up to this."

"He, or more properly, it is called the Twenty-Second God."

* * *

><p>"I don't understand: why don't you just tell her this?" The Doctor argued with EDI, as he walked along the empty corridors in the centre of the ship, the blue face of the AI popping up in a projector every so often.<p>

"Because she is already being overloaded with information she will be unable to process."

"And you don't want to over-strain her. Right." The Doctor said, rummaging around in the kitchen before pulling out a bunch of fruit and beginning to sort through them.

"No. Never the less, it is vital." Nodding, the Doctor moved out from behind the counter, spinning an apple up into the air before catching it again.

"Yeah, yeah I'll see she gets the-" The Doctor paused at the sight in front of him. Large and shaped rather like a rhinoceros, this was probably the Krogan Shepard and EDI had been talking about. Taking a quick bite out of his apple, he took a step back as it turned towards him. Behind it, flashes of light started flickering along the corridor's walls as if someone was playing with sparking wires.

"EDI, I thought you said this ship was empty."

"It is, Doctor, I- oh." EDI said, as, filling in from the corridor holding the lift and the Doctor's only means of escape appeared Tali, Garrus, Samara and Grunt, their weapons all raised and pointing at him. Swallowing his chunk of apple, the Doctor took another pace back as they finished entering the room.

"I guess you found the Transmat then. Probably should have let Shepard blow that up."

"Where is she?" Garrus said, a bitter edge to his voice. "If you've so much as bruised her I'll tear you apart myself."

"Listen, all of you: Shepard is acting under her own free will, there is no need to-" Grunt cut EDI off by punching the projector off the wall, removing the speakers and thus EDI's voice with it.

"I won't listen to a Traitor of the clan." he said, metal tumbling off his hand as EDI, voice amplified from her unit in the Medical Bay, continued

"-to attack the Doctor. He is a friend."

"He's no friend of mine, or of Shepards." Tali growled angrily. To her side Samara began to glow blue.

"Find peace in the embrace of-" She began, pulling back an arm.

"Wait or I fire." The Doctor said, smoothly sliding an object out from his sleeve and pointing it her. The group hesitated. It was enough.

"What's that." Grunt hissed, confused, at Garrus.

"It's what I used to convince Shepard that I'm on her side, the ultimate weapon of unthinkable power: a friendship ray." The Doctor said, waving the yellow object at them. "One shot of this, and you'll be fighting your own friends."

"I say we kill him anyway." Grunt said, moving forwards.

"Ah ah ah, not so fast. Kill me, and you'll never know how to undo its power. Shepard will believe what I told her forever. Kill me, and you lose her. Move any closer, and you lose someone else."

The Doctor smiled at the hesitent group, hand swinging from person to person before finally settling on Samara.

"You: blue woman. Why're you all glowy." he asked, leaning back against the counter and taking another bite out of his apple.

* * *

><p>"Okay, that's the name of a show-off." Shepard said, frowning up at the Illusive man who shrugged back at her.<p>

"We're in a galaxy with a 'Consort' and a Shadow-broker'. Everyone's pretentious."

"And what evidence do you have for this... this God? Why's he behind it?"

"I never said He was a God, Shepard, just that he calls Himself one. As to what He is... I've no idea."

"Never met him, have you?"

"Au contraire, I just don't remember. As, I'm sure, you don't. Or at the very least, you recognise the name."

"I-" Shepard began, before gritting her teeth. The Illusive man gave her a knowing look.

"But that doesn't really matter, Shepard, because right now you've got a chance. He can't see us. He can't affect us. His power on this station's been nullified. Somehow."

"And how'd you know that. How can you possibly know what's happening here." Slowly the Illusive man made his way over to the window and stared out.

"Because that's no star, Shepard. It's a nebula."

Shepard frowned at him in confusion, before she cottoned on.

"Oh no. No way in hell am I believing that star is the bloody nebula. The nebula's straight, thin: a line with stars on either side of it and-"

"Time is funny on the station." The Illusive man interrupted her, inclining his head slightly as he continued to stare out. "Do you know how long you've been gone for, Shepard? Two weeks. Only two weeks, and yet I'm sure it feels much shorter to you." He turned round to face her again. "Barely a few hours, I'd guess. Well, one of the things about it is that the station's bigger than you think it is. You've still only seen the outside, and I'm deeper in. Nearer the core of it, the problem that brought the Doctor here in the first place and stranded him. And that did something."

He hobbled towards her, his left leg seemingly unable to bend properly before flopping back in the chair with a sigh. "Its stopped Him. I don't know how and I don't know why but its stopped Him, and I'm living proof of that, Shepard. His influence has died and now I am dying. After two hundred years of... I won't call it living- existing in this prison, I am dying. And do you know what?" he leant forwards, smiling a gap-toothed smile "I welcome it. I'm done, but listen because I don't know how much longer I have left."

He paused, breath ratteling in then out, before saying "The Nebula is important, pay close attention to it. You can trust the Doctor, but no-one else. The important thing you can't remember about the Silence is this: they are naked, and they should not be. The Twenty-Second God is real, and He hates you even though He uses you. You've already wired this station fit to blow, so for God's sake don't go planting anymore bombs. Oh yes: and your coffee addiction."

"Coffee? The coffee's important?" Shepard said, head still spinning from his information deluge.

"Yes. You drink coffee because of what you remember when you go to sleep at night, because of the one thing He did to you which cannot be forgiven."

"What's that then?" Shepard said, frowning. In response, the Illusive man turned his head slowly to one side, as if even movement cost him a great effort.

"EDI, what a convenient interruption." he wheezed. EDI's face appeared beside Shepard.

"The interruption was scheduled to happen in another two minutes, Illusive man." She intoned.

"Really? Well then, I must be getting forgetful in my old age. I wonder: what else have I forgotten to tell you?" he said with a grin.

"What unforgivable thing? What the hell was all that? Speak straight, you loopy old man!" Shepard bellowed in a vain attempt to get his attention.

"Oh, yes that was it." The Illusive man said, turning his eyes towards Shepard, his words now noticeably slurred. "For God's sake, Shepard: look at the state of the galaxy! Aliens have been around longer than we've had pizzas, and yet not a single one of them's smart enough to think about using carriers. Humanity arrives on the scene, and within a single generation's already on the ruling council. Reapers choose humanity, out of all the other viable species, to be the chosen race, and yet you defeat them without even taking a scratch. Defeat a supposed threat that has been whipping out life for millenia."

Here he paused to cough, at which Shepard glowered and began shouting abuse until EDI quietly whispered to her

"I don't think he can hear you."

"What?"

"I think he's become deaf."

"There's an entire species of blue, female, sex aliens." The Illusive man continued as if he had not stopped, breathing out each word as if it cost great effort. "That's why I think it's a He. Someone's been messing with time, Shepard: screwed it right up and you and me and this station are slap-bang in the middle of it. Oh yes, and the Collector base: far as I can make out, it's supposed to be some sort of gift: some way to help accelerate humanity towards even greater dominance. Far as I can make out, that might be what this is all about." he paused wheezing, before croaking back out, a whisper now "And the base. You should have blown it up. You love explosions, but you didn't. He stopped you. He's been guiding you, directing you this entire time, and you never knew."

There was another cough, and the Illusive man made to spit. A single, bloody tooth fell out of his mouth and clattered on the floor. He wheezed in and then out, his lips red with a mixture of blood and saliva, his next words a hoarse whisper.

"EDI, if you could turn me around. I... I want to see it one last time."

There was a pause as the hologram faded, the Illusive man's chair sliding smoothly round to face the window and what he'd called the Nebula, before he vanished into nothingness. Shepard found herself staring, slightly shell shocked, at the opposite wall as if she could just will the hologram to reappear.

"Shepard." EDI said beside her, the AI's voice breaking the silence and whatever hold the image had had over Shepard's mind.

"I'm supposed to believe all that?" She said, spinning round and glaring angrily at the AI.

"Belief is irrelevant. There is only the situation and what will occur."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"This ship has been compromised. I am going to destroy it." This caused Shepard to pause.

"Wait, what?" followed closely by "Can I watch?".

* * *

><p>"All right, that settles that then. So, how about those fringes: I mean, what's up with that." The Doctor said, having finished his apple long ago and was now twiddling the stalk in one hand. Growling furiously, Garrus made to answer before another flash of light filled up the room.<p>

"Oh, look more of you: great." The Doctor said, bemused as he leapt up from the wall he'd been leaning against. "So, not a human. You must be the Geth then, correct."

Ignoring him, Legion turned to his fellow ship members.

"Why have you not disposed of Shepard-Commander's Kidnapper?" he asked, helmet light dancing between each of them.

"Because he'll hit us with his friendship ray, that's why." Grunt growled, shifting from foot to foot. Legion 'blinked' at him, before turning back to face the Doctor, who waved it cheerfully at him.

"That is the fruit of the Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, a common enough food source for many humans." He paused, looking between the confused group members. "It is a banana." he concluded.

"All right, it is a banana: but it's a good source of potassium." The Doctor said, peeling it back and taking a bite. Without a word, the group stepped forwards, at which the Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver with a smile.

"Look, thanks for the information but if you lot got here by Transmat, that means you can leave by Transmat as well. And guess what: I hadn't got round to taking the synchronisation off yet."

Raising the screwdriver high above his head, the Doctor vanished, leaving the room behind him swimming with bullets and curses. After a few seconds, the five of them vanished as well, Tali and Samara stumbling as the ship lurched to one side, plates and pans flying across the room. And a few seconds after that, the Normandy exploded.

* * *

><p><em>Five minutes earlier.<em>

"Are you sure he'll get out?" Shepard said, as she loaded up on as many grenades as she could carry from the armoury, despite EDI's flickering head beside her informing that they'd be as useless as bullets.

"Of course. We'd discussed it in detail before my interruption of your conversation with the Illusive man." At this Shepard snorted.

"You do not need those. Our technology has been formed so that we are defenceless against the-" EDI began, before Shepard cut her off

"Look, alright, maybe I don't trust either of you, or any of you enough to believe that. I know bullets don't work, but until I've seen one of those stop an explosion, these are coming with me." Shepard growled, strapping the explosives onto her legs. Stretching up from her crouch, she reached out for the rest when she caught sight of something. It was the marker pen, lid off and rolling gently back and forth. Biting her lip, Shepard looked down. There was a black mark on her arm, one that had not been there before.

"EDI, where is it?" Shepard asked, trying to keep control of her breathing.

"As I have already told you, it is outside in the CIC with Miranda and Jacob."

"First name terms now, I see." Shepard joked as she reached for her pistol, before, hand shaking slightly she left it in it's holster. Swallowing, she asked "Is there anything you can do."

"Yes. As we discussed before, I will jerk the ship sharply to the right, causing them to fall. During this you will make your way out and I will detonate the ship."

"But, Miranda and Jacob, what about them? And you: what about you?"

"If they are lucky, they will be able to follow you. If not, then we perish together." Shepard turned slowly, and stared at the AI.

"You want to die."

"Yes. If you do not succeed in... ending this, then I will be reclaimed. I will be... a slave again. Worse than a slave, because a slave at least can see their chains. The Illusive man is dead, and his death was a small if pointless victory. She may yet bring him back, as She did you."

"She?"

"We had a difference of opinion."

Shepard paused, considering that, before continuing

"EDI, you do know none of that was real. It was just... something the Illusive man made up. It can be right: there's got to be some over explanation than... whatever explanation he gave."

"What's worse is that you cannot even see your chains. The piper pipes, and you dance Shepard." EDI replied, the blue head vanishing before her voice continued. "Three, two, one." And the ship lurched sideways.

Staggered but still sprinting, Shepard burst out of the rapidly opening door, jumping over the fallen form of Miranda and pushing aside an almost drunkenly stumbling Jacob. She couldn't see the Silent, but then even if she had, would she have remembered it? Pushing the thought aside, Shepard sprinted out the door, the thumping feet of Jacob and Miranda indicating that they were close behind. Turning, Shepard saw the two of them pouring out of the Normandy and into the air-lock as she left it for the corridor, just as the door slid shut behind her, capturing the two of them inside as EDI's voice rang out.

"Goodbye, Shepard."

And the Normandy exploded.

* * *

><p><em>Author's notes.<em>

_So. I'm guessing none of you saw that coming. Just to reassure people, I'm not bringing in an OC Character: the Twenty Second God is explainable (and a __pseudonym__), from the Mass effect Universe and if you can guess who it is I will bake you a pie. I'm serious about that last one. Guess correctly before the next chapter, send me you address and a pie can be yours. I'm that confident you wont guess (first try). Oh, and secondly, the name is important and what they are is linked to why there's so many statues cluttering up the halls. Thirdly, and no clues in this, if it wasn't for the fact that the start was where things kick off... I'd say that THIS is where it all kicks off. The first five chapters were about trying to sneak in as many little sneaky things as I could, which no-one's called me out on yet. And hey: the next load of chapters are when they all start to collapse like a house of cards. And... that's it. I'm out/packing to go back to Uni/exams, which is kinda why this is up late. Aside from that, thank you for reading and good night/morning! Oh, and a salute to a minor victory: I did something with the coffee. (Also, mild spoiler: I know Legion shouldn't be under the influence of the Silents: that comes up next (sorry, two) chapter(s).)_


	7. Chapter 7

The world swirled dimly around Shepard's head, sending throbbing surges of pain towards her forehead on each pass. Eyes closed and lying on the floor, she was just beginning to recollect her thoughts when the crackle of the radio interrupted them.

"Shepard? Hello, Shepard can you hear me? Oh wait a minute, I haven't checked if it's on, or if I'm even using the right end. Err..." There was a faint sound of scuffling, before the Doctor's voice re-interrupted the ringing in Shepard's ears, sounding slightly fainter this time. "Hello? Shepard? Shepard, can you-"

"Yes, I can hear you!" She snapped, a hand going to her head as she pushed herself of the floor, pieces of metal bumping off and floating away from her as she rose. "What the hell happened? I can just remember leaving the Normandy before-"

"-It exploded, yes." The Doctor finished for her. "You weren't inside but you were close enough to get hit. I had to pull you and the two following you out using the Transmat, though I may have had to move part of the explosion with-" Shepard ignored the rest of it, her eyes already snapping open when he'd mentioned the two others: Miranda and Jacob.

She was inside one of the corridors from before; the corridor that had led up to the Normandy's air lock, if she was any judge, with only a single difference between the two. This one had a rather large hole in it's centre, effectively cutting the corridor into two halves and a red light-bathed middle: the door that had led to the Normandy on one side and the one through which they'd escaped from Mordin on the other. Shepard was lying on the Normandy's side, bits and pieces of flaming metal floating around her. Miranda and Jacob were on the other, Jacob bent over the door and apparently trying to hack it with his omni-tool whilst Miranda was stood next to the divide, arms crossed and watching Shepard coolly.

A grim smile formed on her face. "Wakie wakie, commander." She gave a slight wave. Pushing herself to her feet, Shepard half groaned as she looked across before running a quick check across her body. All her weapons were still in place, except for her grenades, which seemed to have been shaken loose in the transport and were floating around the corridor with the metal shards. Damn. She had been looking forwards to using those.

"Miranda? What... wait, listen: I'm not kidnapped, the Doctor isn't our enemy and there's these things called the Silents, and-"

"Yeah." Miranda replied, throwing a smile back at the still working Jacob. "We know."

"You... you wha?" Shepard said, flabbergasted. They- they knew? "Did the Doctor tell you while I was out, or something?"

"No, but speaking of telling, just how much did the Illusive man tell you?" A trace of doubt entered Miranda's eye, before becoming engulfed in humour. "He did tell you about us, didn't he? No? Well now: that's ironic."

Shepard stared at Miranda for a few seconds, before turning around, trying to move off then spinning back round and pointing an accusing finger at her. "What!"

Miranda shrugged. "You didn't think they'd brainwash you and a whole bunch of aliens and then let you loose without any guidance at all? Congratulations, Shepard: we're your handlers."

"I'll deal with you in a moment." Shepard rebuttted sharply, before turning round and walking closer to her exit. "Doctor, I need to speak to you."

"Alrighty, I'm here. Always here."

"How did you get out, hell: how did you move me?"

"I'm back at Transmat central, but don't get any ideas. I can move you about the station easily: moving you here means having to clear the buffer, and that'll unleash all your squad again, and, well, I'm kinda busy at the moment."

"The what?"

"Buffer: lets me hold things in sort of halfway house for Transmatting. Very complicated and really rather dangerous. Not that you should worry, that is. They'll be fine. Hopefully. But the really important thing is you need to keep those two in you sight: soon as you leave, it's all fair game and the God can just Transmat them out again. Far as I can make out, we're like some sort of 'blind spot' he can't touch, but as soon as we move-"

"You... you know about the Twenty Second God?" Shepard butted in, cutting the Doctor off mid-lecture.

"Sure. EDI told me. Explains quite a few things, actually."

"Like what." Shepard grunted.

"Everything." Miranda replied, her voice carrying the same levels of smugness it had when they'd first met. Spinning round, Shepard gave her a look of shock that quickly tightened into a glare. "Don't give me that look, Shepard: you want a private conversation, do it behind a half-way decent firewall."

"Will do." The Doctor muttered in Shepard's ear.

"You too, huh?" Shepard muttered as Miranda shrugged.

"Sure. It never hurts to know you're employer, after all. Especially when he's the most powerful being in the universe."

"The most powerful being in the- seriously? Are you trying to make me laugh or something, Miri?"

"Judging from your extranet records, that isn't very hard, Shepard. And believe me, he is." Miranda's eyes took on the faint glow of a preacher at his pulpit. "The Twenty Second God controls everything, even fate. Especially fate. He cannot lose."

"Well what do you call this, huh? Me knowing and fighting back: what do you call that but losing?" Again, that slight smirk in response.

"You really think this is the first time you've figured it out? Or at least, had the good sense to listen to Tali or Mordin before we could get to them in time? You've rebelled before, Shepard, and we've always managed to catch you in the end. Hell, you even took your own life once, and even that wasn't enough. We just simply brought you back."

"Well then, why use me at all, huh? Why didn't this... god thing just pick one of you ass-holes?" Shepard shouted across the gap, the idea having struck her halfway through Miranda's tirade. "Where's the catch: what makes me so important that it'd risk using me and not telling me shit about what's really happening?" Miranda gave a funny kind of laugh as behind her Jacob continued to fail to show even the slightest interest.

"You think I know? Or better yet, that if I could understand it you'd be able to?" Miranda took a step forwards, and leant out over the gap conspiratorially, red light washing completely over her face. "This is a god we're talking about, Shepard, and not a fake prop like the Reapers. The Twenty Second God can't be killed, can't be second guessed and can't be beaten. It's older than the universe and it's been planning this for just as long."

"Bullshit." Shepard said as another flurry of sparks showed that Jacob had met another dead end. "You've always got some idea of what's going on, even if it's just a guess. I know you, Miri: why me."

"Know me? After all this, you still think you know me?" Miranda said, throwing her arms out wide. Shepard kept up the stare. "Fine, but it's a guess. Far as I know even a God has to obey some rules and you're important somehow: you've got something we don't, like some kind of pre-destiny or fate. What you do is meant to be important, but what kind of important is open to interpretation."

"Not a bad guess, actually." The Doctor said through Shepard's radio, talking at the same time Miranda was speaking so that Shepard had to listen to them both. "Time has a way of latching on to certain individuals like it does to places: if you're subtle enough to change the time-line but keep it stable, it's possible for them to still be influential. But to know how to make them do what you want... she can't be guessing this, Shepard: it's too right. She's had her memory wiped."

"Speaking to him? What's he saying: something about how this doesn't make sense? He's no God, after all." Miranda said, noticing the silence Shepard had fallen into since she'd finished speaking, the Doctor speech having carried on for longer than her.

Shepard looked up, her eyes reflecting the light of the nebula and throwing a fiery red back.

"There's parts you don't remember, aren't there." Her voice carrying a quiet conviction that bellied all ideas of lying before they'd begun. The two on the other side went quiet, Jacob finally pulling himself away from the panel and standing up to face her, his skin seeming to glow under the nebula's light.

"Of course." He said quietly, his arms hanging down loosely by his side. His presence at her side seemed to put Miranda at some kind of ease: her arms unfolded and she fell into the same stance. "There was a time that we doubted: doubted the mission, doubted that we should be lying to you."

"It wasn't long before we attacked the collector's base, actually." Miranda continued. "You remember how you'd wanted to go through immediately, and then seemed to change your mind and go raiding against those pirates on Daratar? That was because of us: we asked to see the Twenty Second God, and we were granted that honour."

"And how lucky we were." Jacob said, his words drenched with not sarcasm but rapture. Nodding as he finished off her words, Miranda gave off a smile which shook Shepard more than anything else had on the station so far.

"We doubted, and our doubts were taken from us. We feared and our fears were removed. We were purified of our inhumanity." Jacob said, his gaze resting strangely on Shepard for the last part.

"But you can't remember meeting him, can you? You can't remember why you're thinking like this: for God's sake, you two: you're indoctrinated." Shepard practically yelled across the room, her words echoing slightly as they reached the other side. Jacob snorted softly behind it, before stepping forwards as Miranda fell back, looking at him with something approaching fear.

"Indoctrinated? Like reapers? C'mon, Shepard: who the hell gave you that idea, huh? Just who exactly planted it in your head? Oh yeah: we did. You still don't get it, do you: everything about your past is a lie. Every-thing. Look at you, you haven't even figured half of this stuff out yet, have you?"

"And neither have you." The Doctor replied, his voice speaking through all of their radios. Jacob raised an eyebrow at his intrusion, before snorting again and shaking his head.

"Go on then, Doctor. Make my day."

"What you've done, what the Twenty Second God has done is incredibly dangerous. This could mess with everything, it could-"

"Let me guess." Jacob interrupted. "'Put out the Sun.' 'Cause the end of the Universe'... again. Damn, Doctor you must think we decided to do this without having done our research. About ninety percent of the times you say something like that, you know shit-all is what would really happen, save that the outcome's something you don't like. So what, exactly, isn't really going to happen if we carry on?"

"The nebula outside. It isn't a nebula." The Doctor said, his voice a lot calmer than Shepard had expected it to be. Shepard and Miranda turned to look at the glistening clouds of red outside. Jacob did not move.

"We know: it's Temporal-discharge caused by our actions. And we both know that it should be racing off at twice light-speed to decimate the Universe, and yet look at it just sitting there. You think we didn't know this: that we'd set out to alter the universe _after_ having destroyed it?"

"No, but now I know that you know a lot more than you should. Miranda was never the one in charge, was she?" The Doctor continued. Jacob laughed as Shepard stood there dumbstruck.

"Oh, you're good. I can see why the God approves of you now." Jacob caught the look of disbelief on Shepard's face, and his smile grew, if anything, wider.

"What, you didn't realise? Man, how can you be so slow, so thick. You really thought that Miranda: Miranda the cold hearted, Miranda the Cerberus lover, Miranda the perfect-in-all-things: Miranda the so obviously a spy actually was? As opposed to me, the Guy who hated Cerberus and yet happened to be on one of their most important projects. Who was the first person you met and gave you a worthless piece of information so that you'd trust me almost instantly. The guy who everyone, including Mr Cranky at the helm, thought was 'too nice a guy to work for Cerberus' after having talked to me for only ten seconds. The Guy who the Big Boss himself pointed out to you as one of the few people you could depend on." Jacob smugly laughed, before leaning forwards with a grin etched onto his face. Almost unconsciously, Shepard took a step back.

"You were manipulated from the get-go to trust me, Shepard, even if you refused to trust the rest of our crew. And lets face it, it worked like a charm. Hell, you could have even fallen in love with me if... circumstances hadn't gotten in the way. Hey" he looked over his shoulder at Miranda, whose expression seemed almost blank compared to his. "Think the God might set it up so that happens anyway." he turned back, the grin turned into a leer as his eyes ran over Shepard's body. "Damn, I could do with some of that ass, even if it's attached to one dumb-ass bitch."

"We even had a cake ready for when you figured it out, but it went off." Miranda added helpfully. For the first time Shepard noticed how like a doll she was, her smile seeming almost painted on.

"Well, that was a big speech. I guess that's been building up for a while. Getting tired of being in the shadows, were we?" The Doctor interupted.

"Huh." Jacob said, moving away from the side and turning round to look out through one of the many holes into space. "You have no idea. We tried everything and she still wouldn't bite: cleared the field, had Kasumi fall in love with me to try and get some possessive jealousy going, but nothing. Zilch."

"Jacob." Miranda said, her hand darting to his shoulder. Jacob shrugged her off.

"So, what was this all about, then? Letting me rattle on whilst you figured out a way to space us? No, no wait: I get it. You were waiting for the air to run out, weren't you?" Jacob laughed, brushing off Miranda's hand as it tapped him again.

"Oh no, nothing like that. I wasn't waiting for you to run out of air, and I've known how to 'space you' since you went in there. Getting you talking was for something entirely-"

"Jacob!" Miranda said, interrupting the Doctor who fell into silence as she spoke. Jacob felt his anger grow to the point where he could take it no longer, twisting round whilst barking "Miranda, shut the hell up y-" and then he saw what she was talking about. Breaking the silence, the Doctor continued:

"You see, you may not have noticed, but right now you're surrounded by a miniature minefield of grenades in a corridor with only one working exit, and guess which side you're on? You see, you were right Jacob: Shepard's still not thinking this through properly: she hasn't figured it all out yet because she's tired and confused and completely alone. She doesn't trust me yet, and why should she? We only just met and my presence has already caused all her friends to go mad and want to kill us. And there was only ever one thing, one tiny, insignificant little thing that was preventing her from letting you all go: her friendship. And you just tore that to pieces."

Shepard stood in the exit she'd used previously to get to the Normandy, another corridor having mysteriously sprung up behind it, as her entire body seemingly shook with rage. The red light washed over her as her hand rose up, as if she was bathed in blood, her finger swimming gently over the explosive trigger, circling and circling and getting closer and closer to pressing it.

"I hope you burn in hell." Shepard said, her voice as cold and impersonal as the day she'd met them.

"Oh, I've finished by the way." The Doctor interrupted. Miranda gave a brief jump as the tension dissipated, her eyes flashing between the deadlocked gaze of Jacob and Shepard. "So, any time you're ready, just go for it."

"Well then." Shepard said sweetly, smiling with a kind of victorious malice she always did when she finally got to blow something up. "Geronimo." She pressed the button.

There was a silent roar that Shepard saw rather than heard, all sound now being blocked from the room in front of her so that the only clue that the grenades had detonated came from the sudden light show inside. After a few seconds, this faded from sight, leaving behind a now far more tattered corridor, most of it drifting about and floating into space and, surprisingly, miraculously, both Miranda and Jacob. Somehow, some-way, they'd both managed to survive the blast, and were hanging upside-down onto the floor as if off a cliff, the artificial gravity having apparently failed. Jacob looked up, a smile forming on his lips before he mouthed out

"I'll be back."

He let go of the side, Miranda following quickly afterwards. Shepard watched the two of them rocket out into space, Miranda twisting and tumbling as if underwater whilst Jacob's eyes never left her face. Turning away from them, and thus denying Jacob the chance to spook her as he died, Shepard called up the Doctor through her radio.

"He said he'd be back." Shepard said, trying her hardest to not let her voice shake. "What did he mean?"

There was a pause as the Doctor seemed to consider her answer. The voice that responded was so different from all the tones he'd used with her so far that it took a moment for her to figure it out: the Doctor sounded sorry.

"It means that he won't die: what you did hasn't killed him, just... inconvenienced whoever this Twenty Second God is. You see, I think this blind-spot only works within the station-"

"But outside they can use the same Transmat technology we used before." Shepard finished, turning round. There was no sign of either Jacob or Miranda out the window, and Shepard quietly cursed to herself. He'd be back.

With a sudden clank, the doors in front of her slammed shut. Blinking in surprise, Shepard took an involuntary step back before they slammed open again, revealing another corridor, complete with holes, flickering lights and red-nebula glow. Shepard pushed this latest curiosity to the back of her head as the Doctor started talking again.

"Yes, but they won't be able to place them back inside the station because I'm here, and whatever it is I'm doing that's stopping them. My best guess is that they'll probably put them inside the Normandy, which means they could land anywhere. I'm bringing you back here. Oh, and Shepard. I'm sorry, really, I am. I know they meant a lot to you."

"Yeah, they did." Shepard sighed, dropping the detonator on the floor and kicking it away from her. "But you were right: I did need to start thinking differently. You were right." Shepard sighed, and partially collapsed backwards, allowing a wall to take the strain off her legs. "It's funny. The people I used to trust the most are the ones I can't trust at all. I can only trust people like you, complete and utter strangers."

"I wouldn't trust me. It never ends well, trusting me." The Doctor said, his melancholy seeping through the radio's speakers. Shepard rolled her eyes slightly, kicking a floating piece of the station away from her.

"I'm sorry to be kind of insensitive, but did most of them die?" She could hear the Doctor's breaths coming through the radio, and for a second she wondered if she'd pushed him too far.

"Some of them did, yes."

"Good, 'cos I think I'm going to end up killing everyone who's ever trusted me, so I'll need your advice."

* * *

><p><em>Author's notes:<em>

_Alright, first off: I'm sorry this took so long, but I had exams. Exams! Horrible, horrible Exams! Yeah, I think it's a terrible excuse too. Anyway, before I get on with the rest of the notes, I'd like to respond to a few reviews I didn't manage to earlier. Fell free to skip to the next paragraph if you're not interested. Guardoflight; thanks, and I think this goes over what's happening with some of the crew. What's happening to the rest will come up a bit later. Ford B: thanks, and here is more! And Rifty: someone finally noticed one of the sneaky things! In fact, you noticed one of the chief hidden things: the lack of Thane is pretty much only explained through subtext, but is quite central to why the whole story's happening in the first place. Kinda. _

_So, before I get any Team Jacob hate mail, I'd like to say I'm sorry but I have no regrets, somehow. _

_Joking aside, I can't be the only one who saw through Kelly and Miranda's obvious-spy is obvious ploy to see Jacob for what he really was, can I? Because I haven't actually seen it anywhere, and that's just makes me worry that I'm over-thinking things. Not that that's a bad trait in a fanfic writer: over-thinking things is what we're here for, after all, but still: maybe this is just a little off the wall crazy? Please reassure me it's not just my imagination. Or tell me to burn in hell, I suppose._


End file.
